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{{Book of Mormon}}
According to [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saint]] belief, the '''golden plates''' (also called the '''''gold plates''''' or in some 19th-century literature, the '''''golden Bible''''')<ref>Use of the terms ''golden bible'' and ''gold Bible'' by both believers and non-believers dates from the late 1820s. See, for instance, {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}} (use of the term ''gold Bible'' by [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] in 1827); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=102, 109, 113, 145}} (use of the term ''gold Bible'' in 1827–29 by believing Palmyra neighbors); {{Harvtxt|Grandin|1829}} (stating that by 1829 the plates were "generally known and spoken of as the 'Golden Bible'"). Use of these terms has been rare, especially by believers, since the 1830s.</ref> are the source from which [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] said he translated the [[Book of Mormon]], a [[sacred text]] of the faith. Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from {{convert|30|to|60|lb|kg}},<ref>{{Harvtxt|Anthon|1834|p=270}}; {{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=600n65; 601n96}}. Vogel estimates that solid gold plates of the same dimensions would weigh about {{convert|140|lb|kg}}.</ref> being golden or brassy in color, and being composed of thin metallic pages engraved on both sides and bound with one or more rings.

Smith said he found the plates on September 22, 1823 at [[Cumorah|a hill]] near his home in [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester, New York]] after an [[angel Moroni|angel]] directed him to a buried stone box. Smith said the angel at first prevented him from taking the plates, but instructed him to return to the same location in a year. In September, 1827, on his fourth annual attempt to retrieve the plates, Smith returned home with a heavy object wrapped in a frock, which he then put in a box. Though he allowed others to heft the box, he said that the angel had forbidden him to show the plates to anyone until they had been translated from their original "[[reformed Egyptian]]" language. Smith dictated a translation using a [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] in the bottom of a hat, which he placed over his face to view the words written within the stone.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=71–72}}; {{Harvtxt|Marquardt|Walters|1994|pp=103–04}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=52–53}} (citing numerous witnesses of the translation process); {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=169–70, 173}} (describing similar methods for both the two-stone Urim and Thummim and the chocolate seer stone). Although Smith's use of a single stone is well documented {{Harv|Wagoner|1982|pp=59–62}}, Smith said that his earliest translation used a set of stone spectacles called the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], which he found with the plates {{Harv|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|1838a|p=5}}. Other than Smith himself, [[Lucy Mack Smith|his mother]] was the sole known witness of the Urim and Thummim, which she said she had observed them when covered by a thin cloth {{harv|Smith|1853|p=101}}.</ref> Smith published the translation in 1830 as the [[Book of Mormon]].

Smith eventually obtained testimonies from eleven men, known as the [[Book of Mormon witnesses]], who said they had seen the plates.<ref>Critics question whether one of these witnesses, Martin Harris, physically saw the plates. Although Harris continued to testify to the truth of the [[Book of Mormon]] even when he was estranged from the church, at least during the early years of the movement, he "seems to have repeatedly admitted the internal, subjective nature of his visionary experience." Vogel, ''Early Mormon Documents'', 2: 255. The foreman in the Palmyra printing office that produced the first Book of Mormon said that Harris "used to practice a good deal of his characteristic jargon and 'seeing with the spiritual eye,' and the like." [[Pomeroy Tucker]], ''Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism'' (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1867), 71 in ''EMD'', 3: 122. John H. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the book, said that he had asked Harris, "Martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes?" According to Gilbert, Harris "looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, 'No, I saw them with a spiritual eye." John H. Gilbert, "Memorandum," 8 September 1892, in ''EMD'', 2: 548. Two other Palmyra residents said that Harris told them that he had seen the plates with "the eye of faith" or "spiritual eyes." Martin Harris interviews with John A. Clark, 1827 & 1828 in ''EMD'', 2: 270; Jesse Townsend to Phineas Stiles, 24 December 1833, in ''EMD'', 3: 22. In 1838, Harris is said to have told an Ohio congregation that "he never saw the plates with his natural eyes, only in vision or imagination." Stephen Burnett to Lyman E. Johnson, 15 April 1838 in ''EMD'', 2: 291. A neighbor of Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, said that Harris "never claimed to have seen [the plates] with his natural eyes, only spiritual vision." Reuben P. Harmon statement, c. 1885, in ''EMD'', 2: 385.</ref> After the translation was complete, Smith said he returned the plates to their [[angel Moroni|angelic guardian]]. Therefore, if the plates existed, they cannot now be examined. Latter Day Saints believe the account of the golden plates as a matter of faith, while critics often assert that either Smith manufactured the plates himself<ref>Vogel, 98: "His remark that a plate was not quite as thick as common tin may have been meant to divert attention from the possibility that they were actually made from some material otherwise readily available to him. Indeed, his prohibition against visual inspection seems contrived to the skeptic who might explain that the would-be prophet constructed a set of plates to be felt through a cloth."</ref> or that the Book of Mormon witnesses based their testimony on visions rather than physical experience.

==Origin and historicity==
{{See also|Origin of the Book of Mormon|Historicity of the Book of Mormon}}

In the words of LDS historian [[Richard Bushman]], "For most modern readers, the [golden] plates are beyond belief, a phantasm, yet the Mormon sources accept them as fact."<ref name="harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=58">{{harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=58}}.</ref> Because Joseph Smith said he returned the plates to [[angel Moroni|an angel]] after he finished translating them, their authenticity cannot be determined by physical examination. Most Mormons believe in the golden plates as a matter of faith.

Nevertheless, the golden plates were reportedly shown to [[Book of Mormon witnesses|several close associates]] of Joseph Smith,<ref>Only close associates of Joseph Smith were allowed to become official witnesses to the plates; he invited no strangers, or women, to view them. These witnesses, first a group of three, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, and then a group of eight—five members of the Whitmer family, Joseph Smith's father, and two of his brothers, Hyrum and Samuel—all said they "saw and hefted" the plates. See Jan Shipps, "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition," University of Illinois Press, pp. 23.</ref> and the [[Book of Mormon]] exists as its reputed translation. Thus, Mormon apologists and Mormon critics can debate indirect evidence only: they may ask whether the [[Book of Mormon]] narrative is consistent with science and history and whether its witnesses are credible.<ref>See generally {{Harvtxt|Metcalfe|1993}}, which outlines the main arguments for and against Book of Mormon authenticity.</ref>Mormon scholars have formed collaborations such as [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies]] to provide [[apologetics|apologetic]] answers to critical research about the golden plates and topics in the field of Mormon studies. Among these topics, the credibility of the plates has been, according to Bushman, a "troublesome item."<ref>"The Mormon sources constantly refer to the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smith's history, the gold plates on which the Book of Mormon was said to be written. For most modern readers, the plates are beyond belief, a phantasm, yet the Mormon sources accept them as fact." {{harvtxt|Bushman|2005}p=58}}. Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling, ''Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999)'' begin a chapter called "The Gold Bible" (259-277) with a question posed by liberal Mormon Brigham D. Madsen, "'Were there really gold plates and ministering angels, or was there just Joseph Smith seated at a table with his face in a hat dictating to a scribe a fictional account of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas?' Resolving that problem haunts loyal Mormons." (259)</ref>

[[Image:caractors large.jpg|left|thumb|250px|A reputed transcript of [[reformed Egyptian]] characters, which Smith said were copied from the golden plates in 1828. The characters are not linked to any known language.]]

The [[Book of Mormon]] itself portrays the golden plates as a historical record, engraved by two [[pre-Columbian]] prophet-historians from around the year AD 400: [[Mormon (prophet)|Mormon]] and his son [[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]]. Mormon and Moroni, the book says, had abridged earlier historical records from other sets of metal plates. Their script, according to the book, was described as "[[reformed Egyptian]]," a language unknown to linguists or Egyptologists.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|p=538}}. Standard language references such as {{Harvtxt|Daniels|Bright|1996}}; {{Harvtxt|Crystal|1997}}; and {{Harvtxt|Woodard|2004}} contain no reference to "reformed Egyptian". "Reformed Egyptian" is also not discussed in {{Harvtxt|Robinson|2002}}, although it is mentioned in {{harvtxt|Williams|1991}}.</ref> Historically, [[Latter Day Saint movement]] denominations have taught that the Book of Mormon's description of the plates' origin is accurate, and that the Book of Mormon is a translation of the plates.<ref>Book of Mormon (LDS edition), Introduction (expressing the LDS view that the Book of Mormon "is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas", and that the book is a translation of the golden plates "into the English language".)</ref> The [[Community of Christ]], however, while accepting the Book of Mormon as scripture, no longer takes an official position on the historicity of the golden plates.<ref>McMurray, W. Grant, "They "Shall Blossom as the Rose": Native Americans and the Dream of Zion," an address delivered February 17, 2001, accessed on Community of Christ website, September 1, 2006 at http://web.archive.org/web/20070817021355/http://cofchrist.org/docs/NativeAmericanConference/keynote.asp ("The proper use of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historicity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity."). At the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference, President Stephen M. Veazey ruled a resolution to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record" out of order. In so doing he stated that "while the Church affirms the Book of Mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree of belief or use. This position is in keeping with our longstanding tradition that belief in the Book of Mormon is not to be used as a test of fellowship or membership in the church." Andrew M. Shields, "Official Minutes of Business Session, Wednesday March 28, 2007," in 2007 World Conference Thursday Bulletin, March 29, 2007. Community of Christ, 2007.</ref> Moreover, even in the more theologically conservative [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS Church]], some adherents who accept the Book of Mormon as inspired scripture do not believe it is a literal translation of a physical historical record.<ref>"In the early 20th century, [[B. H. Roberts]], historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), entertained the notion that Joseph Smith was capable of producing the Book of Mormon himself. In 1999, Richard N. Ostling, a religion journalist, wrote that within "the loyal Mormon community, there is a moderate intellectual group that believes the Book of Mormon does have ancient roots but, as part of the process of revelation properly understood, is expressed through nineteenth-century thought processes....an ancient text mediated through the mind of Joseph Smith" (Osling 1999, 264).</ref>

Non-believers and some liberal Mormons have advanced naturalistic explanations for the story of the plates. For example, it has been theorized that the plates were fashioned by Joseph Smith or one of his associates,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|pp=98, 600 note 65}} (suggesting the plates were made of common tin). To former Mormon Dan Vogel, "construction of such a book would have been relatively easy. There were scraps of tin available on the Smith property and elsewhere in the vicinity, and during the several hours Joseph was separated from Emma the night they went to the hill and on other occasions, he could have easily set up shop in the cave on the other side of the hill or in some corner of the forest. Using a pair of metal shears, it would have been easy to cut a number of 6 x 8 sheets....A book made of tin plates of the dimensions ( 6 x 8 x 6 inches) described by Smith would have weighed between fifty and sixty pounds, corresponding to the weight that was mentioned by eye-witness accounts."</ref> that Joseph Smith had the ability to convince others of their existence through [[magic (illusion)|illusions]] or [[hypnosis]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Riley|1903|p=211}} (proposing the theory that Smith hypnotized his followers in a way that suggested to them that they had seen the plates).</ref> or that the plates were [[mysticism|mystical]] and should be understood in the context of Smith's historical era, when [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] was an accepted part of reality.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Metcalfe|1993|p=178}}.</ref> These theories are explored in the article ''[[Origin of the Book of Mormon]]''. Scholarly examinations of the book's historicity are discussed in the article ''[[Historicity of the Book of Mormon]]''.

==Story of the golden plates==
[[Image:Joseph Smith receiving golden plates.jpg|175px|thumb|An 1893 engraving depicting [[Joseph Smith]]'s description of receiving artifacts from the [[angel Moroni]]. The artifacts include the golden plates and a set of spectacles made of [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which Smith called the ''[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]''. The [[sword of Laban]] and an ancient breastplate are shown nearby.]]
The story of the golden plates consists of how, according to [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] and his contemporaries, the plates were found, received from the [[angel Moroni]], translated, and returned to the angel prior to the publication of the [[Book of Mormon]]. Joseph Smith is the only source for a great deal of the story because much of it occurred at times when he was the only human witness. Nevertheless, Smith told the story to his family, friends, and acquaintances; and many of these provided second-hand accounts. Other parts of the story are derived from the statements of those who knew Smith, including [[Book of Mormon witnesses|several witnesses]] who said they saw the golden plates.

The best known elements of the golden plates story are found in an account told by Smith in 1838 and incorporated into the official church histories of some [[Latter Day Saint movement]] denominations.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a}};{{harvtxt|Roberts|1902|loc=ch.1-6}} (official history of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]); RLDS History of the Church, vol. 1, ch. 1-2 (official history of the [[Community of Christ]]).</ref> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|The LDS Church]] has [[Biblical canon|canonized]] part of this 1838 account as part of its [[religious text|scripture]], [[Pearl of Great Price (Latter Day Saints)|The Pearl of Great Price]].

===Background===
{{Main|Early life of Joseph Smith, Jr.}}

During the [[Second Great Awakening]], [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] lived on his parents' farm near [[Palmyra (village), New York|Palmyra, New York]]. At the time churches in the region contended so vigorously for souls that western New York became known as the "[[burned-over district]]" because the fires of religious revivals had burned over it so often.<ref>Jan Shipps, "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition," University of Illinois Press, pp. 7</ref> Western New York was also noted for its participation in a "craze for treasure hunting."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bennett|1893}}. The treasure-seeking culture in early-19th-century [[New England]] is described in {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=25–26}}.</ref> Beginning as a youth in the early 1820s, Smith was periodically hired, for about $14 per month, as a [[scrying|scryer]], using what were termed [[Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|"seer stones"]] in attempts to locate lost items and buried treasure.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}} (stating that he was what he called a "money digger", but saying that it "was never a very profitable job to him, as he only got fourteen dollars a month for it").</ref> Smith's contemporaries described his method for seeking treasure as putting the stone in a white [[stovepipe hat]], putting his face over the hat to block the light, and then "seeing" the information in the reflections of the stone.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1833|pp=253–54}}; {{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=265}}; {{Harvtxt|Clark|1842|p=225}}; {{Harvtxt|Turner|1851|p=216}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}}; {{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|pp=20–21}}; {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=305}}; {{Harvtxt|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}; {{Harvtxt|Mather|1880|p=199}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51, 54–55}}.</ref>

Smith did not consider himself to be a "peeper" or [[crystal gazing|"glass-looker,"]] a practice he called "nonsense."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51}},</ref> Rather, Smith and his family viewed their folk magical practices as [[spiritual gift]]s.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51}}. [[Lucy Mack Smith]] later remembered that the family did not abandon its labor "to win the faculty of Abrac, drawing magic circles, or sooth saying to the neglect of all kinds of business. We never during our lives suffered one important interest to swallow up every other obligation but whilst we worked with our hands we endeavored to remember the service of & the welfare of our souls."</ref> Although Smith later rejected his youthful treasure-hunting activities as frivolous and immaterial, he never repudiated the stones themselves nor denied their presumed power to find treasure; nor did he ever relinquish the magic culture in which he was raised.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=50–51}} Smith "never repudiated the stones or denied their power to find treasure. Remnants of the magical culture stayed with him to the end."; Jan Shipps, ''Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition,'' University of Illinois Press, 11.</ref> He came to view seeing with a stone in religious terms as the work of a "seer",<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=51}}.</ref> and indeed, in his view a seer was even greater than a [[prophet]].<ref>Book of Mormon, Mosiah 8:15-17.</ref> Joseph Smith's first stone, apparently the same one he used at least part of the time to translate the golden plates, was chocolate-colored and about the size of an egg,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1930|p=129}}. Roberts was at the time the official historian of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], and his opinion has considerable weight, given that the LDS Church attempted to downplay any influence of magic in early Latter Day Saint history.<{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}</ref> found in a deep well he helped dig for one of his neighbors.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=163}}; {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|pp=305–306}}. The stone was found in either 1819 ({{Harvnb|Tucker|1867|pp=19–20}} {{Harvnb|Bennett|1893}}) or 1822 {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=240}}.</ref> This stone may still be in the possession of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<ref>[[Joseph Fielding Smith]] (a former president of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]): "The statement has been made that the Urim and Thummim was on the altar in the [[Manti Utah Temple|Manti Temple]] when that building was dedicated. The Urim and Thummim so spoken of, however, was the seer stone which was in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith in early days. This seer stone is currently in the possession of the Church." ''Doctrines of Salvation'' 3: 225.</ref>

===Finding the plates===
According to Smith, he found the plates after he was directed to them by a heavenly messenger<ref>Smith referred to the visitor as an "angel of the Lord" at least as early as 1832 {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=4}}, and possibly as early as 1829 (''Early Mormon Documents'' 1:151-152). Some early accounts related by non-Mormons described this angel as a "spirit" ({{Harvnb|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvnb|Harris|1833|p=253}}; {{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=242}}) or a "ghost" {{Harv|Burnett|1831}}; see also {{Harvtxt|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}} (a later-published account using the "ghost" terminology). In 1838, however, Smith later said that the "angel" was a man who had been "dead, and raised again therefrom" {{Harv|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}}.</ref> whom he later identified as the [[angel Moroni]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|1835|p=180}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838b|pp=42–43}}. In distinction from his other accounts, Smith's 1838 autobiography said that the angel's name was Nephi {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=4}}; nevertheless, modern historians and Latter Day Saints generally refer to the angel as Moroni.</ref> According to the story, the angel first visited Smith's bedroom late at night, on September 22<ref>September 22 was listed in a local [[almanac]] as the [[autumn equinox|autumnal equinox]], which has led D. Michael Quinn to argue that the date had astrological significance in Smith's worldview ({{Harvnb|Quinn|1998|p=144}}; however, this ostensible astrological significance is never mentioned by Smith or his contemporaries.</ref> in 1822 or 1823.<ref>Smith's first mention of the angel in later histories is an appearance on the eve of September 22, 1823 {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=4}}; however, other accounts say or imply that the angel may have appeared a year earlier in 1822. Smith's first history in 1832 said the angel's first visit was on September 22, 1822, although he also said he was "seventeen years of age" {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=3}}, which would have made the year 1823 (he turned 17 in December 1822). In 1835, after [[Oliver Cowdery]] initially dated the angel's visit to the "15th year of our brother J. Smith Jr's, age", Cowdery changed the statement to read the 17th year of his age (16 years old, or 1822)—but he said this visit in Smith's "17th year" occurred in 1823 {{Harv|Cowdery|1835a|p=78}}. Smith's father is quoted by an inquirer who visited his house in 1830 as saying that the first visit by the angel took place in 1822 but that he did not learn about it until 1823 {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}. A Smith neighbor who said Smith told him the story in 1823 said the angel appeared "a year or two before" the death of Joseph's brother Alvin in November 1823.</ref> Moroni told Smith that the plates could be found buried in a prominent hill near his home, later called ''[[Cumorah]]'', a name taken from the [[Book of Mormon]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=4}} (identifying the hill, but not referring to it by a name); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}} (referring to the hill as ''[[Cumorah]]'').</ref> Before dawn, Moroni reappeared two more times and repeated the information.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=7}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707}}.</ref>

But the angel would not allow Smith to take the plates until he obeyed certain "commandments".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}} (saying the angel told him to obey his charge concerning the plates, "otherwise I could not get them"); {{Harvtxt|Clark|1842|pp=225–26}} (the angel "told him that he must follow implicitly the divine direction, or he would draw down upon him the wrath of heaven"); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=83}} (characterizing the angel's requirements as "commandments of God", and saying Smith could receive the plates "not only until he was willing, but able" to keep those commandments).</ref> Smith recorded some of these commandments, and contemporaries to whom he told the story said there were others, all of which are relevant to the modern debate about whether, or how closely, events of early Mormonism were related to the practice of contemporary [[folk magic]].<ref>See, e.g., {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998}}.</ref> Smith's writings say that the angel required at least the following: (1) that he have no thought of using the plates for monetary gain,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=5}} (saying he was commanded to "have an eye single to the glory of God"); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}} (saying the angel commanded him to "have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God".)</ref> (2) that he tell his father about the vision,<ref>Smith's mother [[Lucy Mack Smith]] said he was commanded to tell his father during the third vision {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=81}}, but he disobeyed because he didn't think his father would believe him, and the angel appeared a fourth time to rebuke him and reiterate the commandment (82). Joseph Smith and his sister Katharine said the angel gave him the commandment in his fourth visit, but did not say whether he had received the commandment earlier that night ({{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=12}}). Smith's father is quoted by a skeptical interviewer to say that in 1830, Smith delayed telling his father about the vision for about a year {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}. Smith's brother William, who was 11 at the time, said the angel commanded him to tell his entire family {{Harv|Smith|1883|p=9}}, although he may have been remembering Smith tell the story that night ''after'' he visited the hill, according to their mother's recollection {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=83}}.</ref> and (3) that he never show the plates to any unauthorized person.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvtxt|Hadley|1829}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}}.</ref> Smith's contemporaries who heard the story—both sympathetic and unsympathetic—generally agreed that Smith mentioned the following additional commandments: (4) that Smith take the plates and leave the site where they had been buried without looking back,<ref>This commandment is described in the account of [[Joseph Knight, Sr.]], a loyal Latter Day Saint friend of Smith's {{Harv|Knight|1833|p=2}}, and Willard Chase, an associate of Smith's in Palmyra during the 1820s {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=242}}. Both Knight and Chase were treasure seekers, but while Knight remained a loyal follower until his death, Chase was a critic of Smith's by the early 1830s.</ref> and (5) that the plates never directly touch the ground until safe at home in a locked chest.<ref>There is agreement on this commandment by Smith's mother {{Harv|Smith|1853|pp=85–86}} and sister {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} and by two non-Mormons ({{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=242}}; {{Harvnb|Lapham|1870|p=305}}).</ref> Some unsympathetic listeners who heard the story from Smith or his father recalled that Smith had said the angel required him (6) to wear "black clothes" to the place where the plates were buried,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (an affidavit of Willard Chase, a non-Latter Day Saint treasure seeker who believed Smith wrongly appropriated his seer stone). Chase said he heard the story from Smith's father in 1827. Fayette Lapham, who traveled to Palmyra in 1830 to inquire about the Latter Day Saint movement and heard the story from Joseph Smith, Sr., said Smith was told to wear an "old-fashioned suit of clothes, of the same color as those worn by the angel", but Lapham did not specify what color of clothing the angel was wearing {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=305}}.</ref> (7) to ride a "black horse with a switchtail",<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (affidavit of Willard Chase, relating story heard from Smith's father in 1827). A friendly but non-believing Palmyra neighbor, Lorenzo Saunders, heard the story in 1823 from Joseph Smith, Jr., and also said Smith was to required to ride a black horse to the hill {{Harv|Saunders|1884b}}.</ref> (8) to call for the plates by a certain name,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (affidavit of the skeptical Willard Chase).</ref> and (9) to "give thanks to God."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (statement of Orson Saunders of Palmyra, who heard the story from Benjamin Saunders, who heard the story from Joseph Smith).</ref>

[[Image:Mormon Hill engraving (1841).gif|right|300px|thumb|An 1841 engraving of "[[Cumorah|Mormon Hill]]" (looking south), where Smith said he found the Golden Plates on the west side, near the peak.]]

In the morning, Smith began work as usual and did not mention the visions to his father<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}</ref> because, he said, he did not think his father would believe him.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=12}} (stating that Smith told the angel during the fourth visit that he was afraid his Father would not believe him).</ref> Smith said he then fainted because he had been awake all night, and while unconscious, the angel appeared a fourth time and chastised him for failing to tell the visions to his father.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=6}}.</ref> When Smith then told all to his father, he believed his son and encouraged him to obey the angel's commands.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=82}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}. Smith's brother William, who was 11 at the time, said he also told the rest of his family that day prior to visiting the hill {{Harv|Smith:1883|pp=9–10}}, although he may have been remembering Smith tell the story the night ''after'' he visited the hill, according to their mother's recollection {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=83}}. Smith's sister Katharine said that Joseph told his father and the two oldest brothers Alvin and [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] the morning prior to visiting the hill, but Katharine was too young (10 years old) to understand what they were talking about {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}.</ref> Smith then set off to visit the hill, later stating that he used his seer stone to locate the place where the plates were buried<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1833|p=252}} (statement by Henry Harris, a non-Mormon Palmyra resident); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=163}} (statement by Martin Harris, a Latter Day Saint who became one of the Three Witnesses of the Golden Plates). According to one hearer of the account, Smith used the seer stone to follow a sequence of landmarks by horse and on foot until he arrived at the place the plates were buried.{{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=305}}.</ref> but that he "knew the place the instant that [he] arrived there."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|pp=6–7}}.</ref>

Smith said he saw a large stone covering a box made of stone (or possibly iron).<ref>Most accounts, including those written by Smith, say the plates were found in a stone box ({{Harvnb|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|pp=15–16}}; {{Harvnb|Whitmer|1875}}, calling it a "stone casket", and stating that Smith had to dig down for the box "two and a half or three feet"); according to two non-believing witnesses, however, Smith said they were buried in an iron box ({{Harvnb|Bennett|1831|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}).</ref> Using a stick to remove dirt from the edges of the stone cover, and prying it up with a lever,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}</ref> Smith saw the plates inside the box, together with other artifacts.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|pp=15–16}}. According to various accounts, these artifacts may have included a breastplate ({{Harvnb|Cowdery|1835b|p=196}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=16}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}, saying it was the "breast-plate of Laban"), a set of large spectacles made of seer stones ({{Harvnb|Chase|1833|p=243}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|1838a|p=16}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}), the Liahona, the sword of Laban ({{Harvnb|Lapham|1870|pp=306, 308}}; {{Harvnb|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}), the brass plates of Laban {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=13}}, the vessel in which the gold was melted, a rolling machine for gold plates, and three balls of gold as large as a fist {{Harv|Harris|1833|p=253}}.</ref>

===Unsuccessful retrieval attempts===
According to Smith's followers, Smith said he took the plates from the box, put them on the ground, and covered the box with the stone to protect the other treasures it contained.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account by Joseph Knight, Sr., a loyal life-long follower who had worked with Smith in treasure expeditions); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account by Smith's mother, saying this occurred on Smith's ''second'' visit to the hill); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister, saying this occurred on Smith's ''third'' visit to the hill, but that it happened prior to their brother Alvin's death, which was in November 1823); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=197}} (account by Smith's second-in-command Oliver Cowdery, stating that when Smith was looking in the box for other artifacts, he hadn't yet removed the plates).</ref> Nevertheless, the accounts say, when Smith looked back at the ground after closing the box, the plates had once again disappeared into it.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account by Smith's mother); {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account by Smith's life-long friend Joseph Knight, Sr.); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister).</ref> According to two non-believing Palmyra residents, when Smith once again raised the stone and attempted to retrieve the plates, Smith saw something in the box like a toad that grew larger and struck him to the ground.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=242}} (account of Palmyra resident Willard Chase, who heard the story from Smith's father in 1827 and was a non-believer); {{Harvtxt|Saunders|1884a}} (account of Benjamin Saunders, a sympathetic non-believer who heard the story from Joseph Smith in 1827); {{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (account of Orson Saunders, a non-believer who heard it from Benjamin Saunders).</ref> Although Smith's followers do not mention a toad-like creature, they agree with several non-believers that Smith said he was stricken by a supernatural force that hurled him to the ground as many as three times.<ref>Writing with Smith's assistance for a church periodical, Oliver Cowdery said that Smith was stricken three times with an ever increasing force, persisting after the second blow because he thought the plates were held by the power of an "enchantment" (like hidden-treasure stories he had heard) that could be overcome by physical exertion {{Harv|Cowdery|1835b|pp=197–98}}. Smith's mother said he was stricken by a force but did not say how many times {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=86}}. Willard Chase said Smith was stricken at least twice {{Harv|Chase|1833|p=242}}. Fayette Lapham, who said he heard the story in about 1830 from Smith's father, said Smith was stricken three times with ever-increasing force {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=306}}. Two neighbors who heard the story from Smith in Harmony in the late 1820s said Smith was knocked down three times {{Harv|Lewis|Lewis|1879|p=1}}. Smith himself said he made three unsuccessful attempts to take the plates that day, but he did not mention his being stricken {{Harv|Smith|1832|p=3}}. Smith's sister Katharine stated that three times, "he felt a pressure pushing hom [him] away" {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}. [[David Whitmer]] said that the angel struck Smith three times with such force that he was knocked off the hill onto the surrounding plain and had to reascend it {{Harv|Whitmer|1875}}.</ref>

Disconcerted by his inability to obtain the plates, Smith said he briefly wondered whether his experience had been a "dreem of Vision" [sic].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}.</ref> Concluding that it was not, he said he prayed asking why he had been barred from taking the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (saying Smith exclaimed, "why Cant I stur this Book?"); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=198}} (saying that Smith exclaimed, without premeditation, "Why can I not obtain this book?"); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (saying Smith asked, "Lord, what have I done, that I can not get these records?")</ref>

In response to his question, Smith said the angel appeared and told him he could not receive the plates because he "had been tempted of the advisary (sic) and saught (sic) the Plates to obtain riches and kept not the commandments that I should have".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=3}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (saying the angel said "you cant have it now", to which Smith responded, "when can I have it?" and the angel said "the 22nt Day of September next if you Bring the right person with you".); {{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|pp=197–98}} (stating that although Smith "supposed his success certain", his failure to keep the "commandments" led to his inability to obtain them). In Smith's 1838 account he said the angel had already told him he would not receive the plates for another four years {{Harv|Smith|1838a|p=7}}. Smith's brother, who was 11 at the time, said "upon his return [he] told us that in consequence of his not obeying strictly the commandments which the angel had given him, he could not obtain the record until four years from that time" {{Harv|Smith|1883|p=10}}. Smith's sister Katharine (who was 10 at the time) said that Moroni told Smith, "You have not obeyed the commandments as you were commanded to; you must obey His commandments in every particular. You were not to lay them out of your hands until you had them in safe keeping" {{Harv|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}.</ref> According to Smith's followers, Smith had also broken the angel's commandment "not to lay the plates down, or put them for a moment out of his hands",<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}.</ref> and according to a non-believer, Smith said "I had forgotten to give thanks to God" as required by the angel.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Saunders|1893}} (statement of Orson Saunders, who heard the account from his uncle Benjamin Saunders, who heard it from Smith in 1827).</ref>

Smith said the angel instructed him to return the next year, on September 22, 1824, with the "right person": his older brother Alvin.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}} (account of Joseph Knight, Sr., a life-long follower of Smith); {{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=307}} (account of Fayette Lapham, who became a skeptic after hearing the story from Smith's father in 1830); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (account of Smith's sister Katharine).</ref> Alvin died in November 1823, and Smith returned to the hill in 1824 to ask what he should do.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}}. {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=85}} (account of Smith's mother). About the time of the scheduled September 22, 1824 meeting with the angel that Alvin was to attend, there were rumors in Palmyra that Alvin's body had been dug up and dissected. To quell these rumors, Joseph's father brought witnesses to exhume the body three days after Joseph's reported meeting with the angel (September 25) and then ran a notice in a local newspaper stating that the body remained undisturbed—except, of course, by Smith, Sr. and the witnesses. {{Harv|Smith|1824}}.</ref> Smith said he was told to return the following year (1825) with the "right person"—although the angel did not tell Smith who that person might be.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=14}} (saying the angel said, "You will know her when you see her.").</ref> But Smith determined after looking into his seer stone that the "right person" was Emma Hale, his future wife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=2}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (saying that Smith "knew when he saw her that she was the one to go with him to get the records").</ref> For the visit on September 22, 1825, Smith may have attempted to bring his treasure-hunting associate Samuel T. Lawrence.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=243}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}} (saying Lawrence was a seer and had been to the hill and knew what was there); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=164}} (identifying Samuel T. Lawrence as a practitioner of [[crystal gazing]]).</ref>

Smith said that he visited the hill "at the end of each year" for four years after the first visit in 1823,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1838a|p=7}}.</ref> but there is no record of him being in the vicinity of Palmyra between January 1826 and January 1827 when he returned to New York from Pennsylvania with his new wife.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=99–100}}.</ref> In January 1827, Smith visited the hill and then told his parents that the angel had severely chastised him for not being "engaged enough in the work of the Lord",<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=99}}.</ref> which may have meant that he had missed his annual visit to the hill in 1826.<ref>Smith's father is cited as stating Smith was late one year and missed the date for visiting the hill, and therefore was chastised by the angel {{Harv|Lapham|1870|p=307}}.</ref>

===Receiving the plates===
The next annual visit on September 22, 1827 would be, Smith told associates, his last chance to receive the plates.<ref name="Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3">{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}}.</ref> According to Brigham Young, as the scheduled final date to obtain the plates approached, several Palmyra residents expressed concern "that they were going to lose that treasure" and sent for a skilled [[necromancer]] from 60 miles (96 km) away, encouraging him to make three separate trips to Palmyra to find the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Young|1855|p=180}}.</ref> During one of these trips, the unnamed necromancer is said to have discovered the location, but was unable to determine the value of the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Young|1855|pp=180–81}}.</ref> A few days prior to the September 22, 1827 visit to the hill, Smith's loyal treasure-hunting friends Josiah Stowell and [[Joseph Knight, Sr.]] traveled to Palmyra, in part, to be there during Smith's scheduled visit to the hill.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}} (Saying Knight went to Rochester on business, and then passed back through Palmyra so that he could be there on September 22); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=99}} (Smith's mother, stating Knight and Stowell arrived there September 20, 1827 to inquire on business matters, but stayed at the Smith home until September 22).</ref>

Another of Smith's former treasure-hunting associates, Samuel T. Lawrence, was also apparently aware of the approaching date to obtain the plates, and Smith was concerned he might cause trouble.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}} (saying Lawrence was a seer, had been to the hill, and knew what was there).</ref> Therefore, on the eve of September 22, 1827, the scheduled date for retrieving the plates, Smith dispatched his father to spy on Lawrence's house until dark. If Lawrence attempted to leave, the elder Joseph was to tell him that his son would "thrash the stumps with him" if he found him at the hill.<ref name="Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3"/> Late at night, Smith took a horse and carriage to the hill [[Cumorah]] with his wife Emma.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=100}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (Emma "didn't see the records, but she went with him").</ref> While Emma stayed behind kneeling in prayer,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1853|p=164}}.</ref> Joseph walked to what he said was the site of the Golden Plates. Some time in the early morning hours, he said he retrieved the plates and hid them in a hollow log on or near Cumorah.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=246}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1850|p=104}} (Smith had cut away the bark of a decaying log, placed the plates inside, then covered the log with debris); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=165}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (saying Smith "brought them part way home and hid them in a hollow log").</ref> At the same time, Joseph said he received a pair of large spectacles he called the "[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]]" or "Interpreters", with lenses consisting of two [[Seer stones and the Latter Day Saint movement|seer stones]], which he showed [[Lucy Mack Smith|his mother]] when he returned in the morning.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=101}}. Smith's friend Joseph Knight said Smith was even more fascinated by the Interpreters than the plates {{Harv|Knight|1833|p=3}}.</ref>

Over the next few days, Smith took a well-digging job in nearby [[Macedon (town), New York|Macedon]] to earn enough money to buy a solid lockable chest in which to put the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=101}}.</ref> By then, however, some of Smith's treasure-seeking company had heard that Smith said he had been successful in obtaining the plates, and they wanted what they believed was their share of the profits from what they viewed as part of a joint venture in treasure hunting.<ref name="Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167">{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}}.</ref> Spying once again on the house of Samuel Lawrence, Smith, Sr. determined that a group of ten to twelve of these men, including Lawrence and Willard Chase, had enlisted the talents of a renowned and supposedly talented seer from 60 miles (96 km) away, in an effort to locate where the plates were hidden by means of [[divination]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=102}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (saying that Smith's father "heard that they had got a conjurer, who they said would come and find the plates".</ref> When Emma heard of this, she rode a stray horse to Macedon and informed Smith, Jr.,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=103}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}}.</ref> who reportedly determined through his [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]] that the plates were safe. He nevertheless hurriedly rode home with Emma.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=103–104}}.</ref>

Once home in [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester]], he said he walked to [[Cumorah]], removed the plates from their hiding place, and walked home through the woods and away from the road with the plates wrapped in a linen frock under his arm.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=104–06}}.</ref> On the way, he said a man had sprung up from behind a log and struck him a "heavy blow with a gun." "Knocking the man down with a single punch, Joseph ran as fast as he could for about a half mile before he was attacked by a second man trying to get the plates. After similarly overpowering the man, Joseph continued to run, but before he reached the house, a third man hit him with a gun. In striking the last man, Joseph said, he injured his thumb."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|p=99}}{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}}; {{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=246}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=104–06}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=166}}.</ref> He returned home with a dislocated thumb and other minor injuries.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=104–06}} (mentioning the dislocated thumb); {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=166}} (mentioning an injury to his side); {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}} (mentioning the dislocated thumb and an injury to his arm).</ref> Smith sent his father, [[Joseph Knight, Sr.|Joseph Knight]], and Josiah Stowell to search for the pursuers, but they found no one.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=105–06}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}}.</ref>

Smith is said to have put the plates in a locked chest and hid them in his parents' home in Manchester.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=106}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}}.</ref> He refused to allow anyone, including his family, to view the plates or the other artifacts he said he had in his possession, although some people were allowed to heft them or feel what were said to be the artifacts through a cloth.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=264}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|169–70}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1884}}.</ref> A few days after retrieving the plates, Smith brought home what he said was an ancient breastplate, which he said had been hidden in the box at Cumorah with the plates. After letting his mother feel through a thin cloth what she said was the breastplate, he placed it in the locked chest.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=107}} (saying she saw the glistening metal, and estimating the breastplate's value at over 500 dollars).</ref>

The Smith home was approached "nearly every night" by villagers hoping to find the chest where Smith said the plates were kept.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=15}}.</ref> After hearing that a group of them would attempt to enter the house by force, Smith buried the chest under the hearth,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=108}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|pp=166–67}}.</ref> and the family was able to scare away the intended intruders.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=108}}.</ref> Fearing the chest might still be discovered, Smith hid it under the floor boards of his parents' old log home nearby, then being used as a [[cooper (profession)|cooper]] shop.<ref name="Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167"/> Later, Smith told his mother he had taken the plates out of the chest, left the empty chest under the floor boards of the cooper shop, and hid the plates in a barrel of [[flax#Flax seeds|flax]]. Shortly thereafter the empty box was discovered and the place ransacked by Smith's former treasure-seeking associates,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=107–09}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}}.</ref> who had enlisted one of the men's sisters to find the hiding place by looking in her [[Seer stones in Mormonism|seer stone]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=109}} The [[scrying|seer]] was the sister of Willard Chase who said she had "found a green glass, through which she could see many very wonderful things".</ref>

===Translating the plates===
{{See also|Life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1827 to 1830}}

Joseph Smith said that the plates were engraved in an unknown language, and Smith told associates that he was capable of reading and translating them. This translation took place mainly in [[Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Harmony, Pennsylvania]] (now [[Oakland Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Oakland Township]]), Emma's hometown, where Smith and his wife had moved in October 1827 with financial assistance from a prominent, though superstitious, Palmyra landowner [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]].<ref>The local Presbyterian minister, Jesse Townsend, described Harris as a "visionary fanatic". An acquaintance, Lorenzo Saunders, said, "There can't anybody say word against Martin Harris...a man that would do just as he agreed with you. But he was a great man for seeing spooks." {{Harv|Walker|1986|p=35}}.</ref> The translation occurred in two phases: the first, from December 1827 to June 1828, during which Smith [[Anthon transcript|transcribed some of the characters]] and then dictated [[Lost 116 pages|116 manuscript pages]] to Harris, which were lost. The second phase began sporadically in early 1829 and then in earnest in April 1829 with the arrival of [[Oliver Cowdery]], a schoolteacher who volunteered to serve as Smith's full-time scribe. In June 1829, Smith and Cowdery moved to [[Fayette, New York]], completing the translation early the following month.

[[Image:JosephSmithTranslating.jpg|200px|thumb|left| A 21st-century artistic representation of Joseph Smith translating the golden plates by examining a [[seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stone]] in his hat.]]
Smith used scribes to write the words he said were a translation of the golden plates, dictating these words while peering into [[Seer stone (Latter Day Saints)|seer stones]], which he said allowed him to see the translation. Smith's translation process evolved naturally out of his previous use of seer stones in treasure seeking.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=73}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=173}}.</ref> During the earliest phase of translation, Smith said he used what he called "[[Urim and Thummim]]"—two stones set in a frame like a set of large spectacles.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|Mulholland|Thompson|Phelps|1838a|p=5}}. Early followers of Smith used the term ''Urim and Thummim'' to refer both to these large spectacles and Smith's other seer stones, most notably one commonly called the "Chase stone" that Smith had found in a Palmyra well during the early 1820s{{Harv|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=59–62}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=171}}. {{Harvtxt|Tucker|1867|p=35}} (referring to the Urim and Thummim as "mammoth spectacles").</ref> There is no eye-witness testimony that Smith ever wore these spectacles, although some witnesses said he placed them in his hat while translating.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=169–70}}. [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], one of Smith's scribes, is reported to have said that the spectacles were made for a giant, and would not have been wearable by Joseph Smith {{Harv|Anton|1834}}. [[David Whitmer]], another scribe, also said that the spectacles were larger than normal spectacles, and indicated that Smith placed them in his hat while translating, rather than wearing them {{Harv|Whitmer|1875}}. However, a man who interviewed Smith's father in 1830 said that Smith did at least some of the translation while wearing the spectacles {{Harv|Lapham|1870}}.</ref>

According to David Whitmer, Smith began using a single seer stone (not part of a set of spectacles) during a second phase of translation,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=265}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1879|pp=536–40}}; {{Harv|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=59–62}} (containing an overview of witnesses to the translation process); {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=171}} (Whitmer said that the angel had taken the Urim and Thummim after Smith lost the first 116 pages of manuscript, but had allowed Smith to continue translating with the brown stone); {{Harvtxt|Van Wagoner|1982|p=53}}</ref> the same brown stone he had earlier used in treasure seeking.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=172}}: "Most of Smith's disciples did not emphasize the fact that he was now using for religious purposes the brown seer stone he had previously used for the treasure-quest." Smith's father-in-law, Isaac Hale, said that the "manner in which he pretended to read and interpret was the same as when he looked for the money-diggers, with the stone in his hat, and his hat over his face, while the Book of Plates were at the same time hid in the woods!" {{Harv|Hale|1834|p=265}}.</ref> Smith placed the stone in a hat, buried his face in it to eliminate all outside light, and peered into the stone to see the words of the translation.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Whitmer|1875}} ("Having placed the Urim and Thummim in his hat, Joseph placed the hat over his face, and with prophetic eyes read the invisible symbols syllable by syllable and word by word."). Michael Morse, Smith's brother-in-law, stating that he watched Smith on several occasions: "The mode of procedure consisted in Joseph's placing the Seer Stone in the crown of a hat, then putting his face into the hat, so as to entirely cover his face." ({{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|52–53}}, quoting W.W. Blair, ''Latter Day Saints' Herald'' 26 (15 Nov. 1879): 341, who was quoting Michael Morse). Smith's wife Emma stated that she took dictation from her husband as she sat next to him, and that he would put his face into a hat with the stone in it, dictating for hours at a time. {{Harv|Smith|1879|pp=536–40}}.</ref> A few times during the translation, a curtain or blanket was raised between Smith and his scribe or between the living area and the area where Smith and his scribe worked.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Cook|1991|p=173}}. However, Elizabeth Ann Whitmer, later to be the wife of scribe [[Oliver Cowdery]], said she had never seen a curtain raised between Smith and Cowdery or her brothers while translation took place in the Whitmer home {{Harv|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|p=51}}.</ref> Sometimes Smith dictated to Martin Harris from upstairs or from a different room.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=14}}.</ref>

Smith's translation did not require the use of the plates themselves.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Marquardt|2005|p=97}}; {{Harv|Van Wagoner|Walker|1982|pp=53}}.</ref> Though Smith said very little about the translation process, his friends and family said that as he looked into the stone the written translation of the ancient script appeared to him in English.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=72}} (Joseph said almost nothing about his method); {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=170}}.</ref> There are several proposed explanations for how Smith composed his translation. In the 19th century, the most common explanation was that he [[Spalding–Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon authorship|copied the work]] from a manuscript written by [[Solomon Spaulding]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=455 n.273}} (most common 19th-century theory); {{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=68}}.</ref> This theory is repudiated by Smith's preeminent modern biographers.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|pp=143–44}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|pp=90–91}}; {{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|p=455 n.273}} (arguing that the theory has been repudiated).</ref> The most prominent modern theory is that Smith composed the translation in response to the provincial opinions of his time,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=69}}; {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=72}}).</ref> perhaps while in a magical trance-like state.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bloom|1992|p=86}}; {{Harvtxt|Riley|1902|pp=84, 195}}.</ref> As a matter of faith, [[Latter Day Saint]]s generally view the translation process as either an automatic process of transcribing text written within the stone,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=72}} (arguing that this transcription method is the only one consistent with the historical record).</ref> or an intuitive translation by Smith assisted by a [[Christian mysticism|mystical]] connection with God through the stone.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998}pp=479 n.302, 482 n.335}} (expressing his personal view shared by several other [[Mormon apologetics|Mormon apologists]], and noting that while this view might pose problems vis-à-vis the historical record, it helps explain the origin of the Book of Mormon's grammatical mistakes).</ref>

Smith's dictations were written down by a number of assistants including [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma Smith]], Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Clark|1842}} ("Although in the same room, a thick curtain or blanket was suspended between them, and Smith concealed behind the blanket, pretended to look through his spectacles, or transparent stones, and would then write down or repeat what he saw, which when repeated aloud, was written down by Harris."); {{Harvtxt|Benton|1831}} ("Oliver Cowdery, one of the three witnesses to the book, testified under oath, that said Smith...translated his book [with] two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows. That by looking through these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraved on the plates.").</ref> In May 1829, after Smith had lent [[lost 116 pages|116 un-duplicated manuscript pages]] to Martin Harris, and Harris had lost them, Smith dictated a revelation explaining that Smith could not simply re-translate the lost pages because his opponents would attempt to see if he could "bring forth the same words again."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|p=24}}.</ref> According to [[Grant Palmer]], Smith believed "a second transcription would be identical to the first. This confirms the view that the English text existed in some kind of unalterable, spiritual form rather than that someone had to think through difficult conceptual issues and idioms, always resulting in variants in any translation."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Palmer|2002|p=7}}.</ref>

===Reputed location of the plates during translation===
When Joseph and Emma moved to Pennsylvania in October 1827, they transported a wooden box, which Smith said contained the plates, hidden in a barrel of beans.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=113}}; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=170}}.</ref> For a time the couple stayed in the home of Emma's father [[Isaac Hale]]; but when Smith refused to show Hale the plates, Hale banished the concealed objects from his house.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=264}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}}.</ref> Afterward, Smith told several of his associates that the plates were hidden in the nearby woods.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=264}}; {{Harvtxt|Knight|1833|p=3}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=115}}.</ref> Emma said that she remembered the plates being on a table in the house, wrapped in a linen tablecloth, which she moved from time to time when it got in the way of her chores.<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1879">{{Harvtxt|Smith|1879}}.</ref> According to Smith's mother, the plates were also stored in a trunk on Emma's bureau.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=124}}.</ref> However, Smith did not require the physical presence of the plates in order to translate them.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Stevenson|1882}}; {{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|pp=264–65}}; {{Harvtxt|Van Horn|1881}}; {{Harvtxt|Whitmer|1875}} ("The plates were not before Joseph while he translated, but seem to have been removed by the custodian angel."). [[Isaac Hale]] said that while Joseph was translating, the plates were "hid in the woods" {{Harv|Hale|1834|p=264}}. [[Joseph Smith, Sr.]] said they were "hid in the mountains" {{Harvtxt|Palmer|2002|pp=2–5}}.</ref>

In April 1828, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]]' wife, [[Lucy Harris|Lucy]], visited Harmony with her husband and demanded to see the plates. When Smith refused to show them to her, she searched the house, grounds, and woods. According to Smith's mother, during the search Lucy was frightened by a large black snake and thus prevented from digging up the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=115–116}}. Lucy may have caused the "loss" of [[lost 116 pages|the 116 manuscript pages]], which Smith had lent her husband.</ref> As a result of Martin Harris' loss of the [[lost 116 pages|116 pages]] of manuscript, Smith said that between July and September 1828, the [[angel Moroni]] took back both the plates and the [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]] as a penalty for his having delivered "the manuscript into the hands of a wicked man."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=125}} (stating that the angel took back the Urim and Thummim, but referring to the revelation that stated the plates were taken too); {{Harvtxt|Smith|1832|p=5}} (referring only to the plates); {{Harvtxt|Phelps|1833|loc=9:1, p. 22}} (a revelation referring only to the plates and to Smith's "gift" to translate).</ref> According to Smith's mother, the angel returned the objects to Smith on September 22, 1828, the [[autumn equinox]] and the anniversary of the day he first received them.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=126}}.</ref>

In March 1829, Martin Harris visited Harmony and asked to see the plates. Smith told him that he "would go into the woods where the Book of Plates was, and that after he came back, Harris should follow his tracks in the snow, and find the Book, and examine it for himself." Harris followed these directions but could not find the plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|pp=264–265}}.</ref>

In early June 1829, the unwanted attentions of locals around Harmony necessitated Smith's move to the home of [[David Whitmer]] and his parents in [[Fayette, New York]]. Smith said that during this move the plates were transported by the [[angel Moroni]], who put them in the garden of the Whitmer house where Smith could recover them. The translation was completed at the Whitmer home.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=137}}; {{Harvtxt|Salisbury|1895|p=16}}.</ref>

===Returning the plates===
[[File:Golden plates and other artifacts.jpg|thumb|A 21st-century artistic representation of the Golden plates, [[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints)|Urim and Thummim]], [[Laban_(Book_of_Mormon)#Sword_of_Laban|Sword of Laban]], and [[Liahona (Book of Mormon)|Liahona]]]]
{{Main|Cumorah}}

After translation was complete, Smith said he returned the plates to the angel, although he did not elaborate about this experience.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Van Horn|1881}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=141}}.</ref> According to accounts by several early Mormons, a group of Mormon leaders including [[Oliver Cowdery]], [[David Whitmer]], and possibly others<ref>{{Harvtxt|Young|1877|p=38}} (mentioning only Smith and Cowdery); {{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|pp=52, 55}} (including David Whitmer in the list and describing Whitmer's account of the event, and citing William Horne Dame Diary, 14 January 1855, stating that [[Hyrum Smith]] was also in the group).</ref> accompanied Smith and returned the plates to a cave inside the [[Hill Cumorah]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|p=52}}.</ref> There, Smith is said to have placed the plates on a table near "many wagon loads" of other ancient records, and the [[Sword of Laban]] hanging on the cave wall.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Young|1877|p=38}} (Young said he heard this from [[Oliver Cowdery]]).</ref> According to [[Brigham Young]]'s understanding, which he said he gained from Cowdery, on a later visit to the cave, the Sword of Laban was said to be unsheathed and placed over the plates, and inscribed with the words "This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Young|1877|p=38}}.</ref>

Smith taught that part of the golden plates were "sealed".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707">{{Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707}}.</ref> This "sealed" portion is said to contain "a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof".<ref>''Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 27:7.</ref> Many Latter Day Saints believe that the plates will be kept hidden until a future time when the sealed part will be translated<ref>{{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|p=55}}.</ref> and, according to one early Mormon leader, transferred from the hill to one of the Mormon temples.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|p=55}} (quoting a statement by [[Orson Pratt]]).</ref>

[[David Whitmer]] is quoted as stating that he saw just the ''untranslated'' portion of the plates sitting on the table with the sword (and also a breastplate).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|p=55}} (citing reporter Edward Stevenson's 1877 interview with Whitmer).</ref> Apparently, Whitmer was aware of expeditions at Cumorah to locate the sealed portion of the plates through "science and mineral rods," which he said "testify that they are there".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Packer|2004|p=55}}. At least one Mormon scholar doubts the existence of a Cumorah cave and instead argues that early Mormons saw a vision of a cave in another location.{{Harvtxt|Tvedtnes|1990}}</ref>

==Descriptions of the plates==
{{Main|Book of Mormon witnesses}}

Smith said the [[angel Moroni]] had commanded him not to show the plates to any unauthorized person.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, Smith eventually obtained the written statement of [[Book of Mormon witnesses|several witnesses]]. It is unclear whether the witnesses believed they saw the plates with their physical eyes, or they "saw" the plates in a vision. For instance, although Martin Harris continued to testify to the truth of the [[Book of Mormon]] even when he was estranged from the church, at least during the early years of the movement, he "seems to have repeatedly admitted the internal, subjective nature of his visionary experience."<ref>Vogel, ''Early Mormon Documents'', 2: 255. The foreman in the Palmyra printing office that produced the first Book of Mormon said that Harris "used to practice a good deal of his characteristic jargon and 'seeing with the spiritual eye,' and the like." [[Pomeroy Tucker]], ''Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism'' (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1867), 71 in ''EMD'', 3: 122. John H. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the book, said that he had asked Harris, "Martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes?" According to Gilbert, Harris "looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, 'No, I saw them with a spiritual eye." John H. Gilbert, "Memorandum," 8 September 1892, in ''EMD'', 2: 548. Two other Palmyra residents said that Harris told them that he had seen the plates with "the eye of faith" or "spiritual eyes." Martin Harris interviews with John A. Clark, 1827 & 1828 in ''EMD'', 2: 270; Jesse Townsend to Phineas Stiles, 24 December 1833, in ''EMD'', 3: 22. In 1838, Harris is said to have told an Ohio congregation that "he never saw the plates with his natural eyes, only in vision or imagination." Stephen Burnett to Lyman E. Johnson, 15 April 1838 in ''EMD'', 2: 291. A neighbor of Harris in Kirtland, Ohio, said that Harris "never claimed to have seen [the plates] with his natural eyes, only spiritual vision." Reuben P. Harmon statement, c. 1885, in ''EMD'', 2: 385.</ref>

According to some sources, Smith initially intended that the first authorized witness be his firstborn son;<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1834}} (citing Martin Harris as stating in 1829 that Smith’s unborn son would translate the plates at the age of two (this son was stillborn), and thereafter, "you will see Joseph Smith, Jr. walking through the streets of Palmyra, with the Gold Bible under his arm, and having a gold breast-plate on, and a gold sword hanging by his side."); {{Harvtxt|Hale|1834|p=264}} (stating that the first witness would be "a young child”).</ref> but this child was stillborn in 1828.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Howe|1834|p=269}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|p=118}}.</ref> In March 1829, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] came to Harmony to see the plates, but was unable to find them in the woods where Smith said they could be found.<ref>In March 1829, Martin Harris returned to Harmony and wanted to see the plates firsthand. Smith reportedly told Harris that Smith "would go into the woods where the Book of Plates was, and that after he came back, Harris should follow his tracks in the snow, and find the Book, and examine it for himself"; after following these directions, however, Harris could not find the plates {{Harv|Hale|1834|pp=264–265}}.</ref> The next day,<ref>{{Harv|Hale|1834|p=265}}.</ref> Smith dictated a revelation stating that Harris could eventually qualify himself<ref>To qualify as a witness, Harris had to “humble himself in mighty prayer and faith” {{Harv|Phelps|1833|pp=10–12}}.</ref> to be one of three witnesses with the exclusive right to "view [the plates] as they are".<ref>{{Harv|Phelps|1833|pp=11–12}}. Smith’s dictated text of the [[Book of Ether]] (chapter 2) also made reference to three witnesses, stating that the plates would be shown to them "by the power of God" {{Harv|Smith|1830|p=548}}.</ref>

By June 1829, Smith determined that there would be eight additional witnesses, a total of twelve including Smith.<ref>In June 1829, around the time these eleven additional witnesses were selected, Smith dictated a revelation commanding [[Oliver Cowdery]] and [[David Whitmer]] (two of the eventual [[Three Witnesses]]) to seek out twelve "disciples", who desired to serve, and who would "go into all the world to preach my gospel unto every creature", and who would be ordained to baptize and to ordain priests and teachers {{Harv|Phelps|1833|p=37}}. According to [[D. Michael Quinn]], this was a reference to selecting the [[witnesses of the Book of Mormon]], who would be a leading body of Smith's [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}. Mormon religious and apologetic commentators understand this revelation as referring to the eventual (in 1835, six years later) formation of the first [[Quorum of the Twelve]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}</ref> During the second half of June 1829,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Van Horn|1881}}.</ref> Smith took Harris, [[Oliver Cowdery]] and [[David Whitmer]] (known collectively as the [[Three Witnesses]]),<ref>According to Smith's mother, upon hearing news in June 1929 that Smith had completed the translation of the plates {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=138}}, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] accompanied the Smith parents to the Whitmer home in [[Fayette, New York]], where Smith was staying {{Harv|Smith|1853|p=138}}, to inquire about the translation {{Harv|Roberts|1902|p=51}}. When Harris arrived, he joined with [[Oliver Cowdery]] and [[David Whitmer]] to request that the three be named as the [[Three Witnesses]], and Smith's dictated revelation designating the three of them as the witnesses {{Harv|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|Williams|1835|p=171}}.</ref> into woods in Fayette, New York, where they said they saw an angel holding the golden plates and turning the leaves.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|pp=54–55}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1830b|loc=appendix}}.</ref> The four also said they heard "the voice of the Lord" telling them that the translation of the plates was correct, and commanding them to testify of what they saw and heard.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|pp=54–55}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1830b|loc=appendix}}. [[David Whitmer]] later stated that the angel showed them "the breast plates, the [[Liahona|Ball or Directors]], the [[Sword of Laban]] and other plates". ({{Harvtxt|Van Horn|1881}}; {{Harvtxt|Kelley|Blakeslee|1882}}; see also {{Harvtxt|Smith|1835|p=171}}.</ref> A few days later, Smith took a different group of [[Eight Witnesses]]<ref>The [[Eight Witnesses]] consisted of two groups: (1) the males of the Whitmer home, including [[David Whitmer]]'s father Peter, his brothers Christian, Jacob, and John, and his brother-in-law [[Hiram Page]]; and (2) the older males of the Smith family, including is father [[Joseph Smith, Sr.]] and his brothers [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] and [[Samuel Harrison Smith|Samuel]].</ref> to a location near Smith's parents' home in [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra]]<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1853}}. Because of a foreclosure on their [[Manchester (town), New York|Manchester]] property, the Smith family was then living in a log cabin technically in [[Palmyra (town), New York|Palmyra]] ({{Harvnb|Smith|1883|p=14}}; {{Harvnb|Berge|1985}})</ref> where they said Smith showed them the golden plates.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1902|p=57}}. Though the Eight Witnesses did not refer, like the Three, to an angel or the voice of God, they said that they had hefted the plates and seen the engravings on them: “The translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship" {{Harv|Smith|1830b|appendix}}.</ref> Statements over the names of these men, apparently drafted by Joseph Smith,<ref>This is the conclusion of {{Harvtxt|Palmer|2002|pp=195–96}}, who compared "The Testimony of Three Witnesses" to part of the Doctrine and Covenants written in 1829 (first published at {{Harvtxt|Smith|Cowdery|Rigdon|Williams|1835|p=171}}), and concluding that they show "the marks of common authorship". Palmer also compares a letter from Oliver Cowdery to Hyrum Smith dated June 14, 1829, quoting the language of this revelation (Joseph Smith letterbook (22 November 1835 to 4 August 1835), 5-6). Commentators generally agree that this letter refers to the revelation. See Larry C. Porter, "Dating the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood", ''Ensign'' (June 1979), 5.</ref> were published in 1830 as an appendix to the [[Book of Mormon]].<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830b|appendix}}.</ref> According to later statements ascribed to [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], the witnesses viewed the plates in a vision and not with their "natural eyes."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Gilbert|1892}} (during the printing of the Book of Mormon, when asked whether Harris had seen the plates with his bodily eyes, he replied, "No, I saw them with a spiritual eye."); {{Harvtxt|Burnett|1838}} (Burnett "came to hear Martin Harris state in public that he never saw the plates with his natural eyes only in vision or imagination, neither Oliver nor David & also that the eight witnesses never saw them & hesitated to sign that instrument for that reason, but were persuaded to do it, the last pedestal gave away"); {{Harvtxt|Parrish|1838}} ("Martin Harris, one of the subscribing witnesses, has come out at last, and says he never saw the plates, from which the book purports to have been translated, except in vision, and he further says that any man who says he has seen them in any other way is a liar, Joseph not excepted."; Metcalf in ''EMD'', 2: 347 (quoting Harris, near the end of his long life, as saying he had seen the plates in "a state of entrancement"). Harris was resolute, however, as to his position that he had seen the plates in a vision. See Letter of Martin Harris, Sr., to Hanna B. Emerson, January 1871, Smithfield, Utah Territory, ''[[Saints' Herald]]'' 22 (15 October 1875):630, in ''EMD'' 2: 338 ("No man heard me in any way deny the truth of the Book of Mormon, the administration of the angel that showed me the plates; nor the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the administration of Joseph Smith, Jr."). See also [[Richard Lloyd Anderson]], ''Investigating the ''Book of Mormon'' Witnesses'' (Salt Lake City: [[Deseret Book Company]], 1981), 118</ref>

In addition to Smith and the other eleven who claimed to be witnesses, a few other early Mormons said they saw the plates. For instance, Smith's mother [[Lucy Mack Smith]] said she had "seen and handled" the plates.<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842b|p=27">{{Harvtxt|Smith|1842b|p=27}}.</ref> Smith's wife [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma]] and his younger brother [[William Smith (Mormonism)|William]] also said they had examined the plates while they were wrapped in fabric.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1879}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1884}}.</ref> Others said they had visions of the plates or had been shown the plates by an angel, in some cases years after Smith said he had returned the plates.<ref>For instances of people testifying to having seen the Golden Plates ''after'' Smith returned them to the angel, see the affirmations of John Young and Harrison Burgess in {{Harvtxt|Palmer|2002|p=201}}. In 1859, Brigham Young referred to one of these "post-return" testimonies: "Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, were afterwards left to doubt and to disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel. One of the Quorum of the Twelve, a young man full of faith and good works, prayed, and the vision of his mind was opened, and the angel of God came and laid the plates before him, and he saw and handled them, and saw the angel." ''Journal of Discourses'', June 5, 1859, 7: 164.</ref>

===Described format, binding, and dimensions===
[[Image:GoldenPlates.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Full-scale model of the Golden Plates based on Joseph Smith's description]]

The plates were said to be bound at one edge by a set of rings. In 1828, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], is reported to have said that the plates were "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Anthon|1834|p=270}}.</ref> In 1859 Harris said that the plates "were seven inches [18 cm] wide by eight inches [20 cm] in length, and were of the thickness of plates of tin; and when piled one above the other, they were altogether about four inches [10 cm] thick; and they were put together on the back by three silver rings, so that they would open like a book".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=165}}.</ref> [[David Whitmer]], another of the [[Three Witnesses]], was quoted by an 1831 Palmyra newspaper as having said the plates were "the thickness of tin plate; the back was secured with three small rings...passing through each leaf in succession".<ref name="Harvtxt|Cole|1831">{{Harvtxt|Cole|1831}}.</ref> Anomalously, [[Joseph Smith, Sr.|Smith's father]] is quoted as saying that the plates were only half an inch (1.27 centimeter) thick.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870|p=307}}.</ref> [[Lucy Mack Smith|Smith's mother]], who said she had "seen and handled" the plates, is quoted as saying they were "eight inches [20 cm] long, and six [15 cm] wide...all connected by a ring which passes through a hole at the end of each plate".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842b|p=27"/>

[[Hyrum Smith]] and [[John Whitmer]], also [[Eight Witnesses|witnesses in 1829]], are reported to have stated that the rings holding the plates together were, in Hyrum's words, "in the shape of the letter D, which facilitated the opening and shutting of the book".<ref>Statement by Hyrum Smith as reported by William E. McLellin in the ''Huron Reflector'', October 31, 1831. See also {{Harvtxt|Poulson|1878|}}.</ref> Joseph Smith's wife [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma]] and his younger brother [[William Smith (Mormonism)|William]] said they had examined the plates while wrapped in fabric. Emma said she "felt of the plates, as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1879"/> William agreed that the plates could be rustled with one's thumb like the pages of a book.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1884}}.</ref>

Joseph Smith did not provide his own published description of the plates until 1842, when he said in a letter that "each plate was six inches [15 cm] wide and eight inches [20 cm] long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They were...bound together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches [15 cm] in thickness".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842">{{Harvtxt|Smith|1842}}.</ref>

===Described composition and weight===
The plates were first described as "gold", and beginning about 1827, the plates were widely called the "gold bible".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=167}}; {{Harvtxt|Smith|1853|pp=102, 109, 113, 145}}; {{Harvtxt|Grandin|1829}}.</ref> When the Book of Mormon was published in 1830, the [[Eight Witnesses]] described the plates as having "the appearance of gold".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1830|loc=appx">{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|loc=appx.}}</ref> The Book of Mormon describes the plates as being made of "ore".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1830|loc=Mormon 8:5}}.</ref> In 1831, a Palmyra newspaper quoted [[David Whitmer]], one of the [[Three Witnesses]], as having said that the plates were a "''whitish yellow'' color", with "three small rings of the same metal".<ref name="Harvtxt|Cole|1831"/>

[[Joseph Smith, Jr.]]'s first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold"<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842"/>. But Smith said that Moroni had referred to the plates as "gold." Late in life, [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] stated that the rings holding the plates together were made of silver,<ref>Joseph Smith History 1:34; {{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=165}}.</ref> and he said the plates themselves, based on their heft of "forty or fifty pounds" (18–23 kg),<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=166}}</ref> "were lead or gold".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|p=169}}.</ref> Joseph's brother [[William Smith (Latter Day Saints)|William Smith]], who said he felt the plates inside a pillow case in 1827, said in 1884 that he understood the plates to be "a mixture of gold and copper...much heavier than stone, and very much heavier than wood".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1884}}</ref>

Different people estimated the weight of the plates differently. According to Smith's one-time-friend Willard Chase, Smith told him in 1827 that the plates weighed between 40 and 60 pounds (18–27 kg), most likely the latter.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Chase|1833|p=246}}.</ref> Smith's father [[Joseph Smith, Sr.]], who was one of the [[Eight Witnesses]], reportedly weighed them and said in 1830 that they "weighed thirty pounds" (14 kg).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Lapham|1870}}.</ref> Joseph Smith's brother, William, said that he lifted them in a pillowcase and thought they "weighed about sixty pounds [27 kg] according to the best of my judgment".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Smith|1883}}.</ref> Others who lifted the plates while they were wrapped in cloth or enclosed in a box thought that they weighed about 60 pounds [27 kg]. Martin Harris said that he had "hefted the plates many times, and should think they weighed forty or fifty pounds [18–23 kg]".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Harris|1859|pp=166, 169}}.</ref> Joseph Smith's wife [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma]] never estimated the weight of the plates but said they were light enough for her to "move them from place to place on the table, as it was necessary in doing my work".<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1879"/> None of the witnesses specified the exact size of the plates or the number of leaves contained in them, but one scholar speculates that, had the plates been made of 24-karat gold (which Smith never claimed), they would have weighed about 140 pounds (64 kg).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Vogel|2004|loc=p. 600, n. 65}}.</ref>

==="Sealed" portion===
According to Joseph Smith and others, the book of Golden Plates contained a "sealed" portion<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842|p=707"/> containing "a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof."<ref>Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 27:7. The "sealing" of apocalyptic revelations in a book has precedents in the [[Bible]]. See, for example, Isaiah 29:11, Daniel 12:4, and Revelation 5:1–5. The Book of Mormon states that this vision was originally given to the [[Brother of Jared]], recorded by Ether on a set of 24 plates later found by [[Limhi]], and then "sealed up". Book of Mormon, Ether 1:2. According to this account, [[Moroni (Book of Mormon prophet)|Moroni]] copied the plates of Limhi onto the sealed portion of the Golden Plates.</ref> Smith never described the nature of the seal, and the language of the [[Book of Mormon]] may be interpreted to describe a sealing that was spiritual, metaphorical,<ref>i.e. that the book was "sealed" in the sense that its contents were hidden or kept from public knowledge</ref> physical, or a combination of these elements.

The Book of Mormon refers to other documents and plates as being "sealed" to be revealed at some future time. For example, the [[Book of Mormon]] says the entire set of plates was "sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord"<ref>{{Harv|Smith|1830|loc=title page}}</ref> and that separate records of [[John the Apostle]] were "sealed up to come forth in their purity" in the [[end times]].<ref>''Book of Mormon'', 1 Nephi 14:26</ref> One set of plates to which the Book of Mormon refers was "sealed up" in the sense that they were written in a language that could not be read.<ref>Book of Mormon, Ether 3:22.</ref>

Smith may have understood the sealing to be a [[supernatural]] or spiritual sealing "by the power of God" (2 Nephi 27:10),<ref>{{Harvtxt|Quinn|1998|pp=195–196}}.</ref> an idea supported by a reference in the Book of Mormon to the "interpreters" ([[Seer stones and the Latter Day Saint movement|Urim and Thummim]]) with which Smith said they were buried or "sealed."<ref>Book of Mormon, Ether 4:5. According to [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]], anyone who looked into the "interpreters", "except by the command of God", would "perish" {{Harv|Harris|1859|p=166}}.</ref> Oliver Cowdery also stated that when Smith visited the hill, he was stricken by a supernatural force because the plates were "sealed by the prayer of faith."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Cowdery|1835b|p=198}}.</ref>

Several witnesses described a physical sealing placed on part of the plates by Mormon or Moroni. [[David Whitmer]] said that when an angel showed him the plates in 1829, "a large portion of the leaves were so securely bound together that it was impossible to separate them,"<ref>David Whitmer interview, Chicago Tribune, 24 January 1888, in David Whitmer Interviews, ed. Cook, 221. Near the end of his life, Whitmer said that one section of the book was "loose, in plates, the other solid". {{Harvtxt|Storey|1881}}.</ref> that the "sealed" part of the plates were held together as a solid mass "stationary and immovable,"<ref>{{Harvtxt|Cole|1831}}</ref> "as solid to my view as wood,"<ref>{{Harvtxt|Poulson|1878}}.</ref> and that there were "perceptible marks where the plates appeared to be sealed"<ref name="Harvtxt|Storey|1881">{{Harvtxt|Storey|1881}}</ref> with leaves "so securely bound that it was impossible to separate them."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Whitmer|1888}}. [[Orson Pratt]], who said he had spoken with many witnesses of the plates,{{Harv|Pratt|1859|p=30}}, assumed that Joseph Smith could "break the seal" if only he had been "permitted" {{Harv|Pratt|1877|pp=211–12}}.</ref> In 1842, [[Lucy Mack Smith]] said that some of the plates were "sealed together" while others were "loose."<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842b|p=27" /> The account of the [[Eight Witnesses]] says they saw the plates in 1829 and handled "as many of the leaves as [Joseph] Smith has translated," implying that they did not examine untranslated parts, such as the sealed portion.<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1830|loc=appx"/> In one interview, David Whitmer said that "about half" the book was unsealed;<ref>{{Harvtxt|Cole|1831}}; {{Harvtxt|Poulson|1878}}.</ref> in 1881, he said "about one-third" was unsealed.<ref name="Harvtxt|Storey|1881"/> Whitmer's 1881 statement is consistent with an 1856 statement by [[Orson Pratt]], an associate of Smith's who never saw the plates himself but who had spoken with witnesses,<ref>{{Harvtxt|Pratt|1859|p=30}}.</ref> that "about two-thirds" of the plates were "sealed up".<ref>{{Harvtxt|Pratt|1856|p=347}}.</ref>

===Claimed engravings===
{{Main|Reformed Egyptian}}

The Golden Plates were said to contain engravings in an ancient language that the Book of Mormon describes as [[Reformed Egyptian]].<ref>{{Harv|Smith|1830|loc=Mormon 9:32}}.</ref> Smith described the writing as "Egyptian characters...small, and beautifully engraved," exhibiting "much skill in the art of engraving."<ref name="Harvtxt|Smith|1842"/>

[[John Whitmer]], one of the [[Eight Witnesses]], said the plates had "fine engravings on both sides,"<ref>{{Harv|Roberts|1906|p=307}}.</ref> and [[Orson Pratt]], who did not see the plates himself but who had spoken with witnesses, understood that there were engravings on both sides of the plates, "stained with a black, hard stain, so as to make the letters more legible and easier to be read."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Pratt|1859|pp=30–31}}.</ref>

==Significance in the Latter Day Saint tradition==
{{Main|Mormonism and engraved metal plates}}

The golden plates are significant within the [[Latter Day Saint movement]] because they are the reputed source for the [[Book of Mormon]], which [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] called the "most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion."<ref>{{Harvtxt|Roberts|1908|p=461}}.</ref> However, the golden plates are just one of many known and reputed metal plates with significance in the [[Latter Day Saint]] movement. The Book of Mormon itself refers to a long tradition of writing historical records on plates, of which the golden plates are a culmination. See [[List of plates (Latter Day Saint movement)]]. In addition, Joseph Smith once believed in the authenticity of a set of engraved metal plates called the [[Kinderhook Plates]],<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=490}};{{Harvtxt|Brodie|1971|p=291}}: "The whole of Nauvoo soon buzzed with the discovery. The ''Times and Seasons'' published full reproductions as further proof of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, and the printing office sold facsimiles at one dollar a dozen." The original source is William Clayton's Journal, May 1, 1843 (See also, ''Trials of Discipleship — The Story of William Clayton, a Mormon,'' 117): ''"I have seen 6 brass plates... covered with ancient characters of language containing from 30 to 40 on each side of the plates. Prest J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth."'' The information was deemed important enough to be republished in the first person (as if Smith had said it) in the ''History of The Church'': ''"I insert facsimiles of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook...I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth."'' More than six pages of ''History of the Church'', 5:372-79 discuss the Kinderhook plates, and Smith directed Reuben Hedlock to make woodcuts of the plates. {{Harvtxt|Palmer|2002|p=31}} "Church historians continued to insist on the authenticity of the Kinderhook plates until 1980 when an examination conducted by the Chicago Historical Society, possessor of one plate, proved it was a nineteenth-century creation." {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2005|p=490}}</ref> although these plates turned out to be a hoax by non-Mormons who sought to entice Smith to translate them in order to discredit his reputation.<ref>Richard Bushman, ''Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 489-90.</ref>

Two other sets of alleged plates, the [[Voree Plates]] and the [[Book of the Law of the Lord]], were purportedly translated by [[James J. Strang|James Strang]], one of three major contenders to succeed Joseph Smith and the eventual leader of the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)]].<ref>The Voree Plates were alleged to have been written by an ancient inhabitant of what is now [[Burlington, Wisconsin]], while the Book of the Law of the Lord was alleged by Strang to be a translation of the [[Plates of Laban]] mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Neither of these alleged discoveries by Strang is accepted as authentic outside of the Strangite community.</ref>

Some Latter Day Saints, especially those within the [[Community of Christ]], have doubted the historicity of the golden plates and downplayed their significance.<ref>W. Grant McMurray, "They "Shall Blossom as the Rose": Native Americans and the Dream of Zion," an address delivered February 17, 2001, accessed on Community of Christ website, September 1, 2006 at http://web.archive.org/web/20070817021355/http://cofchrist.org/docs/NativeAmericanConference/keynote.asp (referring to "long-standing questions about [the Book of Mormon's] historicity" which has provoked "discussion in the 1970s and beyond" about the proper use of the book in the religion); {{harvtxt|Ostling|1999|p=259}}: "'Were there really gold plates and ministering angels, or was there just Joseph Smith Seated at a table with his face in a hat dictating to a scribe a fictional account of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas?' Resolving that problem haunts loyal Mormons. The blunt questioner quoted is Brigham D. Madsen, a liberal Mormon and onetime history teacher at Brigham Young University."</ref> For most Latter Day Saints, however, the physical existence and authenticity of the golden plates are essential elements of their faith. For them, the message of the Book of Mormon is inseparable from the story of its origins.<ref>{{harvtxt|Givens|2003|p=37}}.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Book of Mormon|Latter-day Saints}}
* [[Mormonism and engraved metal plates]]
* [[Reformed Egyptian]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|3}}

==References==
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;" >

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| last=Parrish
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</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no105.htm#Plates Utah Lighthouse Ministry]: skeptical comments about the Golden Plates and their history.
*[http://www.jefflindsay.com/bme10.shtml jefflindsay.com]: LDS scholar Jeff Lindsay's discussion of other ancient metal records.
*[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1986.htm/ensign%20december%201986%20.htm/i%20have%20a%20question.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0#LPTOC2 LDS magazine ''Ensign'']: Official LDS Church Magazine's description of the golden plates.

{{LDS|hide|hide|show}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Plates}}
[[Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
[[Category:Joseph Smith]]
[[Category:Book of Mormon artifacts]]
[[Category:Lost documents]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint terms]]
[[Category:Angel Moroni]]
[[Category:1823 in religion]]
[[Category:1827 in religion]]

[[ar:الصفائح الذهبية]]
[[da:Guldpladerne]]
[[es:Planchas de oro (mormonismo)]]
[[fr:Plaques d'or]]
[[pt:Placas de ouro]]
[[simple:Golden plates]]

Die Familie: Eine Proklamation an die Welt

2012-05-07T16:11:08Z

204.128.230.1: /* Status */ fixing typo

"'''The Family: A Proclamation to the World'''" is a 1995 statement issued by [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church)—whose adherents are known as [[Mormons]]—which defined the official position of the church on [[family]], [[marriage]], [[gender role]]s, and [[human sexuality]]. First announced by [[President of the Church|church president]] [[Gordon B. Hinckley]], the statement has been criticized by [[LGBT rights by country or territory|gay rights]] advocacy groups.<ref name = HRC>{{cite web|last=Jeppson|first=Buckley|title=Stances of Faiths on LGBT Issues: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)|url=http://www.hrc.org/issues/religion/4988.htm|work=HRC website|publisher=[[Human Rights Campaign]]|accessdate=April 8, 2011}}</ref>

==History==
President Hinckley first read the Proclamation on September 23, 1995, at the General [[Relief Society]] Meeting, stating that the purpose was to "warn and forewarn" the world to the danger of deviating from its standards.<ref name=ensign1195/> The LDS Church has published copies of the Proclamation in many languages, distributing them worldwide, and Mormons have framed the proclamation for display in their church buildings and homes.

The Proclamation has been repeatedly discussed in [[General Conference (LDS Church)|General Conferences]] of the Church<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/first-things-first?lang=eng|title=First Things First|last1=Scott|first1=Richard G.|date=April 2001|work=[[General Conference (LDS Church)|General Conference]]|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=2 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/don-t-leave-for-tomorrow-what-you-can-do-today?lang=eng|title=Don’t Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today|last1=Costa|first1=Claudio R. M.|date=October 2007|work=[[General Conference (LDS Church)|General Conference]]|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=2 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/daughters-of-god?lang=eng|title=Daughters of God|last1=Ballard|first1=M. Russel|date=April 2008|work=[[General Conference (LDS Church)|General Conference]]|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=2 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/celestial-marriage?lang=eng|title=Celestial Marriage|last1=Nelson|first1=Russel M.|date=October 2008|work=[[General Conference (LDS Church)|General Conference]]|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=2 April 2011}}</ref> as well as in virtually all other kinds of church meetings throughout the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-45-the-family-is-ordained-of-god?lang=eng|title=Lesson 45: “The Family Is Ordained of God”|date=1999|work=Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=3 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/manual/marriage-and-family-relations-instructors-manual/lesson-1-the-family-is-central-to-the-creators-plan?lang=eng|title=Lesson 1: “The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”|date=2000|work=Marriage and Family Relations Instructor’s Manual|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=3 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/manual/marriage-and-family-relations-instructors-manual/lesson-10-the-sacred-roles-of-fathers-and-mothers-part-1-fathers-roles?lang=eng|title=Lesson 10: The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers (Part 1: Fathers’ Roles)|date=2000|work=Marriage and Family Relations Instructor’s Manual|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=3 April 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://lds.org/manual/marriage-and-family-relations-instructors-manual/lesson-11-the-sacred-roles-of-fathers-and-mothers-part-2-mothers-roles?lang=eng|title=Lesson 11: The Sacred Roles of Fathers and Mothers (Part 2: Mothers’ Roles)|date=2000|work=Marriage and Family Relations Instructor’s Manual|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)|accessdate=3 April 2011}}</ref> For instance, the Proclamation and the issues it addressed were discussed during the 2008 Worldwide Leadership Training meeting of the LDS Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,8027-1-4404-1,00.html |title=Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting Feb 2008 |publisher=Lds.org |date=2008-02-09 |accessdate=2011-02-20}}</ref>

==Contents==
Although the Proclamation presents no new doctrines or policies, it provides an official statement of the church on gender and sex.

===Doctrinal assertions===
* Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
* The family is ordained of God and central to God's plan.
* All human beings are [[Creation myth|created]] in the image of [[God]].
* As a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents, each person has a divine nature and destiny.
* [[Gender role|Gender]] is an essential characteristic of human identity [[Pre-existence#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)|before]], during, and [[Afterlife|after]] life on Earth.
* "In the [[Pre-existence|premortal realm]], spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan."<ref>For this and the following quotes, please see {{cite web|title=The Family: A Proclamation to the World|url=http://lds.org/family/proclamation?lang=eng|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (lds.org)}}</ref>
* "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy [[Temple (LDS Church)|temples]] of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make it possible for individuals to return to the [[Heaven|presence of God]] and for families to be united eternally."
* God will hold parents accountable for the way in which they fulfill responsibilities to their families.
* "Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity."

===Items of counsel===
* God's commandment to [[Adam and Eve (LDS Church)|Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.
* Sexual relations are sacred and must take place only between a [[Marriage|married]] man and woman.
* Procreation is divinely appointed, and therefore life is sacred and an important part of God's plan.
* Parents have "a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children."
* Parents' responsibilities toward their children include rearing them "in love and righteousness," providing "for their physical and spiritual needs," and teaching "them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens."
* Happiness and success come through following the teachings of [[Jesus]] and through "[[faith]], [[prayer]], [[repentance]], forgiveness, respect, [[love]], compassion, work, and wholesome [[recreation]]al activities."
* "By divine design [[father]]s are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."
* "[[Mother]]s are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."
* "Fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
* Citizens and officers of government should "promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

===Warnings===
* Those who commit [[adultery]] or "abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God."
* Disintegration of the family will bring "calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

==Criticism==
{{Expand section|date=April 2011}}

The [[LGBT]] advocacy group [[Human Rights Campaign]] has cited the Proclamation as an indication that the church restricts those who believe themselves to be [[gay]], [[lesbian]], and [[bisexual]] from fully integrating into the LDS Church.<ref name = HRC/> However, according to the late church president [[Gordon B. Hinckley]]:

{{cquote|"...our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the same God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, whether single or married."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lds.org/ensign/1999/11/why-we-do-some-of-the-things-we-do?lang=eng |title=Why We Do Some of the Things We Do |author=Gordon B. Hinckley |publisher=''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'' |date=November 1999}}</ref>}}

The Church also issued this statement after the Human Rights Campaign's criticism: {{cquote|The Church recognizes that those of its members who are attracted to others of the same sex experience deep emotional, social and physical feelings. The Church distinguishes between feelings or inclinations on the one hand and behavior on the other. It’s not a sin to have feelings, only in yielding to temptation.

There is no question that this is difficult, but Church leaders and members are available to help lift, support and encourage fellow members who wish to follow Church doctrine. Their struggle is our struggle. Those in the Church who are attracted to someone of the same sex but stay faithful to the Church’s teachings can be happy during this life and perform meaningful service in the Church. They can enjoy full fellowship with other Church members, including attending and serving in temples, and ultimately receive all the blessings afforded to those who live the commandments of God.<ref> {{citation |last= Otterson |first= Michael |authorlink= Michael Otterson |date= 12 October 2010 |url= http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-mormon-responds-to-human-rights-campaign-petition-same-sex-attraction |contribution= Church Responds to HRC Petition: Statement on Same-Sex Attraction |title= News Release |work= MormonNewsroom.org |publisher= LDS Church }}</ref>}}

==Status==
The LDS Church has characterized the Proclamation as a reaffirmation of standards "repeatedly stated throughout its history."<ref name=ensign1195>{{cite journal|last=Hinckley|first=Gordon B.|title=Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World|journal=[[Ensign (LDS magazine){{!}}Ensign]]|year=1995|month=November|url=http://lds.org/ensign/1995/11/stand-strong-against-the-wiles-of-the-world?lang=eng|page=100}}</ref> It is particularly important because, although not [[canonized]], the Proclamation is only the fifth such statement in the history of the church.<ref>See ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'', 1151, 1153, 1155, 1156, and archives for the 1980 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
*Proclamation 1: issued on January 15, 1841 by the First Presidency consisting of Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Hyrum Smith. This proclamation “reviews the progress of the Church in spite of hardships and persecution, and speaks at length on the prospects of the settlement of Nauvoo.”
*Proclamation 2: issued April 6 in New York and on October 22, 1845 by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (who were currently serving as the governing of the Church because a First Presidency had not yet been re-organized) and was “addressed to the rulers and people of all nations” and “was an announcement that God had spoken from the heavens and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth.”
*Proclamation 3: issued October 21, 1865, by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the purpose of “correct[ing] certain theories about the nature of God that had been published by one of the Twelve in official Church literature, without having those statements cleared and verified by the First Presidency and the Twelve.”
*Proclamation 4: issued on April 6, 1980 by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the organization of the church. This proclamation was concerning the progress, doctrine, mission, and message of the Church, and also mentioned in some detail about the family.
*Proclamation 5: “The Family: Proclamation to the World.”</ref> The Proclamation was especially authoritative because it was issued in the name of the three members of the [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]] and the twelve members of the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]], each of the fifteen signatories being considered by the LDS Church an [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostle]] as well as a "[[prophet, seer, and revelator]]."<ref>{{cite book|author=David Curtis Dollahite|title=Strengthening our families: an in-depth look at the proclamation on the family|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QpQEAAAACAAJ|accessdate=12 April 2011|date=June 2000|publisher=Bookcraft|isbn=978-1-57345-824-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Craig H. Hart|title=Helping and healing our families: principles and practices inspired by The family : a proclamation to the world|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_WNkAAAACAAJ|accessdate=12 April 2011|date=30 September 2005|publisher=Deseret Book|isbn=978-1-59038-485-5}}</ref> The principles established by the Proclamation were cited by Mormons during the campaign of the LDS Church and its members in support of [[California Proposition 8 (2008)]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gay Mormons object to church decision|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25432122/|work=MSNBC website|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|accessdate=April 8, 2011|date=June 28, 2008}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[California Proposition 22 (2000)]]
* [[Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
* [[List of Mormon family organizations]]
* [[The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|The Family: A Proclamation to the World}}
* [http://lds.org/family/proclamation?lang=eng "The Proclamation - Readable and Printable Text"] 
* [http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,40-1-3190-17,00.html “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” Reaches 10-year Milestone]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_hooDhAbU “Gordon B. Hinckley reading The Family: A Proclamation to the World”]
{{-}}
{{Latter-day Saints}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Family}}
[[Category:Christian confessions, creeds and statements of faith]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines and practices regarding sexuality and gender]]
[[Category:Relief Society]]
[[Category:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts]]
[[Category:Young people and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
[[Category:Works originally published in Ensign (LDS magazine)]]
[[Category:1995 works]]
[[Category:1995 in religion]]
[[Category:Proclamations]]
[[Category:Works about families]]

[[es:La familia: una proclamación para el mundo]]
[[fr:La famille : déclaration au monde]]
[[it:La famiglia: un proclama al mondo]]
[[pt:A Família: Proclamação ao Mundo]]
[[fi:Perhejulistus]]

Lucy Mack Smith

2012-02-17T18:20:42Z

204.128.230.1: /* Succession crisis */ fixed spelling error

{{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography
| name = Lucy Mack Smith
| image = Lucy Mack Smith.jpg
| image_size =
| alt = Engraving of Lucy Mack Smith
| caption = Engraving of Lucy Mack Smith
| birth_name = Lucy Mack
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1775|07|08|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Gilsum, New Hampshire|Gilsum]], [[New Hampshire]]
| death_date = {{Dda|1856|05|14|1775|07|08|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]], [[Illinois]]
| death_cause =
| resting_place = [http://www.josephsmith.net/josephsmith/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=70dcf7a14ee52010VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD&locale=0 Smith Family Cemetery]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|40|32|25.98|N|91|23|31.06|W|type:landmark|display=inline|name=Smith Family Cemetery}}
| notable_works =
| title = [[The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother]]
| spouse = [[Joseph Smith, Sr.]]
| children = [[Alvin Smith (brother of Joseph Smith, Jr.)|Alvin Smith]] [[Hyrum Smith]] [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] [[Samuel H. Smith (Latter Day Saints)|Samuel H. Smith]] Ephraim Smith [[William Smith (Latter Day Saints)|William Smith]] [[Don Carlos Smith]]
| parents = Solomon Mack Lydia Gates
| relatives =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature size =
| signature_alt =
| website = {{URL|http://www.josephsmithsr.com/lucymack/index.php}}
}}
'''Lucy Mack Smith''' (July 8, 1775 – May 14, 1856) was the mother of [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]], founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]]. She is most noted for writing a memoir: ''[[The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother|Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations]].'' She was an important leader of the movement during the life of Joseph.

== Background and early life ==
Lucy Mack was born on July 8, 1775, in [[Gilsum, New Hampshire]], during an era of political, economic, and social change. The second half of the eighteenth century had seen a slowly evolving shift of responsibilities within the American family. Even though the [[Revolutionary War]] would accelerate that shift, the initial impetus came from the changing economic scene. According to women's historian Linda Kerber, the growing market economy and "industrial technology reshaped the contours of domestic labor" (7). This shift toward commercialism pushed the father's work farther away from the home, with the result that the mother now took over the father's former role of final responsibility for the children's education and for their moral and religious training (Bloch, 113). Magazines and educational publications heralded mothers as "the chief transmitters of religious and moral values" (Bloch, 101). William Buchan's 1804 'Advice to Mothers', one of many such publications, described the importance of this new emphasis on mothers:

Lucy was proud of her father's involvement in the [[Revolutionary War]]. Even though Solomon Mack was not committed to any religious belief system, he certainly appreciated the diligence of his wife in attending to the spiritual and educational needs of their children. "All the flowery eloquence of the pulpit," he said, could not match the influence of his wife on their children (chap. 1). Lucy's mother, Lydia Gates Mack, was an example of the kind of "moral mother" increasingly celebrated during the last decades of the eighteenth century. Lucy's older brother, Jason, became a "seeker" and eventually formed his own religious community; her two older sisters each had a visionary confirmation that their sins were forgiven and that God called them to "witness" to others of the need for repentance. Such gestures of piety were expected in the highly charged revivalist climate of the day. As historians have noted, clergymen "encouraged people to induce 'visions'" (Buel, 11). Lucy's father, after a period of acute suffering in body and mind, underwent his own religious conversion in 1810.

In the rural areas of northern New England where the Smiths lived, the proliferation of evangelical religious sects and the pre-Victorian emphasis on the family as a moral force were especially significant forces in Lucy's life. Migrants to this area had taken with them the revolutionary spirit of political independence. They had also encouraged the breakdown of the old order of religious domination. "The grip of colonial religious culture was broken and a new American style of religious diversity came into being." Such a setting became fertile ground for religious experimentation and the birth of indigenous religious sects, some of which "undertook to redefine social and economic order through the model of the extended family." Without stable institutional structures, the family thus became the "crucible" for forming "primary identity, socialization, and cultural norms for rural life" (Marini, 7, 56, 31). Lucy was a product of this environment.

== Marriage and children==
Lucy married [[Joseph Smith, Sr.]], in January 1796, bringing a wedding gift of $1,000 from her brother, [[Stephen Mack|Stephen]], and his business partner, John Mudget. Lucy assumed the responsibility for the moral and religious guidance of her children as well as for their secular education. As a result, she emerges as a major influence in preparing them for their involvement in the [[charismatic movement]] which early Mormonism represents.

After six years of marriage, Lucy became very ill, was diagnosed with "confirmed [[Tuberculosis#Other names for the disease|consumption]]," the disease from which her sisters Lovisa and Lovina had died, and was given up by the doctors (Smith, chap. 11). Lucy did not feel prepared for death and judgment: "I knew not the ways of Christ, besides there appeared to be a dark and lonesome chasm between myself and the Saviour, which I dared not attempt to pass." By making a gigantic effort, she perceived "a faint glimmer of light." She spent the night pleading with the Lord to spare her life so she could bring up her children (Alvin and [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]]) and "be a comfort" to her husband. She vowed that, if her life was spared, she would serve God with all her heart, whereupon she heard a voice advising her, "Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Let your heart be comforted; ye believe in God, believe also in me." From that point on, Lucy began a long search for a religion that would teach her the way of salvation. In so doing, she was following the precepts of her culture. During this post-revolutionary period, religious speakers constantly emphasized the "cultivation" of female piety so that women might more ably fulfill their role as a "moral mother" (Bloch, 118).

Lucy also continued to educate her children in secular as well as spiritual matters. Dr. [[John Stafford]] of [[Palmyra, New York]] interviewed in 1880, remembered that Lucy "had a great deal of faith that their children were going to do something great" and also recalled that Lucy taught her ten children from the Bible. (Although Lucy Mack Smith gave birth to eleven children with Joseph Smith, Sr, their first died shortly after childbirth in 1797). Stafford did not comment on the spiritual precepts they thus garnered but rather on the children's educational achievements. [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Jr.]] had been "quite illiterate," he said, but "after they began to have school at their house, he improved greatly" (Vogel 2:122). Were Lucy's ambitions for, and faith in, her children's abilities unusual for a mother of that period? Linda Kerber tells how the republican mother was to "encourage in her sons civic interest and participation. She was to educate her children and guide them in the paths of morality and virtue" (283). Nancy Woloch, notes that ministers, after "discarding [[predestination]] as an axiom, now suggested that mothers, not God, were responsible for their children's souls" (121). Lucy certainly seems to have taken such responsibilities very seriously in her own family. [[William Smith (Mormonism)|William Smith]] later affirmed that Lucy was a very pious woman and much interested in the welfare of her children, both here and hereafter, [who] made use of every means which her parental love could suggest, to get us engaged in seeking for our souls' salvation, or (as the term then was) "in getting religion." She prevailed on us to attend the meetings [the Methodist revival being preached by George Lane], and almost the whole family became interested in the matter and seekers after truth. . . . My mother continued her importunities and exertions to interest us in the importance of seeking for the salvation of our immortal souls, until almost all of the family became either converted or seriously inclined (Vogel 1:494-95).

Lucy's piety and principles were major moral influence in her children's lives, but she was also concerned about her husband's spiritual well-being. New England ministers declared that a wife's conversion could also help her perform "her great task of bringing men back to God" (Welter, 162). Various publications of the early nineteenth century pointed out:<blockquote>Religion or piety was the core of women's virtue, the source of her strength. Religion belonged to woman by divine right, a gift of God and nature. This "peculiar susceptibility" to religion was given her for a reason: "the vestal flame of piety, lighted tip by Heaven in the breast of woman" would throw its beams into the naughty world of men (Welter, 152).</blockquote>

According to Nancy Woloch, "Female converts outnumbered male converts three to two in the [[Second Great Awakening]] in New England. . . . By 1814, for instance, women outnumbered men in the churches and religious societies in rural Utica, and they could be relied upon to urge the conversion of family members" (121).

It was Lucy who took the initiative in trying to involve her family in seeking the "true church." In light of Joseph Sr.'s indifference, she sought consolation in earnest prayer that the gospel would be brought to her husband and was reassured by a dream that her husband would be given "the pure and undefiled Gospel of the Son of God" (56). About this time Joseph Sr. began having visionary dreams with highly symbolic content, obviously related to his ambivalence about religious faith and sometimes presaging events to come. These dreams continued after the family's move to Palmyra, New York, until he had had seven in all; Lucy remembers five well enough to quote in detail.

== Book of Mormon ==
Lucy's efforts to find the true religion did not slacken in Palmyra. She went from sect to sect; and sometime after 1824, she and three of her children, [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]], Samuel, and Sophronia, joined Western [[Presbyterian Church]], the only church with a meetinghouse in Palmyra. <ref>{{cite journal| last=Matzko| first=John| authorlink=John A. Matzko|title=The Encounter of the Young Joseph Smith with Presbyterianism| periodical=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought| volume=40| issue=3| year=2007|pages=68–70}} Matzko notes that "Lucy Mack Smith had been reared by a devout Congregationalist mother through a childhood that can truly be described as 'a series of losses.' Thus, not surprisingly, when Lucy reached Palmyra, she developed a connection with the Presbyterian church, even though she held aloof from membership."</ref> Although Lucy longed for her family to be united in their religious faith, she could not persuade her husband to join them. Thus, when young [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph]] had his vision, followed by the coming forth of the [[Book of Mormon]] attended by other heavenly messengers, it was the means of making Lucy's dream of a family united in religious harmony come true.

Throughout the turmoil of the revivals, Lucy had revealed her anxiety and her determination that her family would "get religion," so she shares her joy in the eventual unity of faith young [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph]] brings to the Smith family with his vision of a "restoration." Lucy tells the story very movingly. Three years after the [[First Vision]] of young Joseph, she observes, "I presume our family presented an aspect as singular as any ever lived upon the face of the earth—all seated in a circle, father, mother, sons and daughters, and giving the most profound attention to a boy, eighteen years of age, who had never read the Bible through in his life" (chap. 19). She relates how Alvin, on his deathbed, counseled Joseph to "be faithful in receiving instruction and in keeping every commandment" (chap. 20).

While Lucy still continued attending meetings at the local Presbyterian church, young [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph]] refused to attend; and when he finally obtained the promised [[Golden Plates|gold plates]] which told of the history of the early inhabitants of the American continent, Lucy stopped going to meetings herself. She said, "We were now confirmed in the opinion that God was about to bring to light something upon which we could stay our minds, or that he would give us a more perfect knowledge of the plan of salvation and the redemption of the human family. This caused us greatly to rejoice, the sweetest union and happiness pervaded our house, and tranquility reigned in our midst" (Smith, chap. 19). Much of Lucy's attention during this period was directed towards her family being the instrument in bringing salvation to the whole human family. It was clearly a Smith family enterprise. As [[Jan Shipps]] has pointed out, Lucy employs the pronouns we, ours, and us rather than simply referring to Joseph's particular role (Mormonism, 107).

== Church leadership ==
When converts were baptized into the new church, Lucy expanded her motherly concern to include them as well. En route to [[Kirtland, Ohio]], when the women in the group—and even the men—behaved like improvident, sulky children, Lucy used a combination of parental firmness and encouragement, took over the charge of feeding those who had come without supplies, disciplined and watched over the children of the negligent, and found housing for them as well. During a moment of grumbling, she reminded them, "Have any of you lacked? Have not I set food before you every day, and made you, who had not provided for yourselves, as welcome as my own children?" (chap. 39). It was a telling comparison, outlining as it did the role she played in the church at a time when the institution provided nothing similar. In Kirtland, Lucy shared her home with newly arrived immigrants, sometimes sleeping on the floor herself when the house was full. She also continued in her missionary work, even daring to stand up to a [[Presbyterian]] minister in defense of her faith.

When [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Jr.]] made his father the church's first [[Presiding Patriarch (Mormonism)|patriarch]] in December 1833, he emphasized the familial nature of the early Mormon movement. Likening his father to [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]], Smith Jr. said, "So shall it be with my father; he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding the keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints" (qtd. in Bates and Smith, 34). In this calling Father Smith was to give patriarchal blessings to the Saints; and when he attended the blessing meetings, he insisted that Lucy accompany him (chap. 44). On at least one occasion, Lucy added her blessing or confirmed what had already been received (Crosby).

During the Missouri period when Joseph Jr. and [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] were imprisoned in [[Liberty Jail]], Lucy was a tower of strength to her husband and other church members. Only in [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], with floods of converts rising like a tide over the New York stalwarts who were left and with Lucy largely isolated in caring for her dying husband did her sense of her role falter. She still felt like a mother but was less often recognized as such by her "children" in the church. Perhaps the most important meaning in Joseph Sr.'s dying blessing on Lucy was to reaffirm her role and status: "Mother, do you not know that you are the mother of as great a family as ever lived upon the earth. . . . They are raised up to do the Lord's work" (chap. 52). He was telling her that her influence, focused on her biological children, was the seedbed for a larger spiritual family.

== Martyrdom of Hyrum and Joseph ==
Ironically, it was [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Jr.'s]] experiments with expanded family models through [[plural marriage]] that sent rifts shivering through that foundation. Even as Lucy bravely held on to her vision of the family as instruments in the hands of God, her prophet and patriarch sons were killed on June 27, 1844 in [[Carthage, Illinois]]. When Lucy saw the bodies of her martyred sons, she cried "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken this family?" (chap. 54).

For Lucy as a republican mother, her family had been the instrument in the hands of God in restoring Jesus Christ's true gospel to the earth in the latter days. The [[Second Great Awakening]] had seen an emphasis on restoring the primitive church of Christ; and Lucy, it appears, truly thought that her family was performing that service. [[Republican motherhood]] had bestowed on women the responsibility of teaching Jesus' pure gospel to their children and of leading their husbands back to the fold. Lucy had been successful in meeting that challenge. Joseph Smith, Jr., had become the prophet and president of Christ's church and [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]] had been the patriarch and associate president. Lucy's whole family, including her late husband as the first [[Presiding Patriarch (Mormonism)|patriarch]], had been faithful in sustaining the church through times of persecution and great hardship. They had also served as missionaries. Lucy herself had received revelations from the Lord and had played an important role in the entire process. Lucy recalls, "I was left desolate in my distress. I had reared six sons to manhood, and of them all, one only remained, and he too far distant to speak one consoling word to me in this trying hour" (chap. 54). [[William Smith (Mormonism)|William]], the surviving son, was on a mission in New York.

== Succession crisis ==
[[Image:JosephSmithSrGrave.jpg|thumb|200px|Grave of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, Nauvoo IL]]
It was perhaps inevitable that there would be a [[Succession crisis (Latter Day Saints)|crisis of leadership]] in Nauvoo in 1844. Although it is generally assumed that the church carried on in the tradition of its founder, in reality its basic organization shifted during this period of transition. [[Leonard J. Arrington]] has noted that "the conditions under which [[Brigham Young]] and the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles|Twelve Apostles]] assumed leadership assured a hierarchical structure designed along authoritarian lines. . . . The [[theophanous]] works of [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Joseph Smith]] were canonized into doctrine, and the doctrine and organizational structure became more dogmatic and inflexible" ("Intellectual,"18).

Lucy Mack Smith, it appears, was a tenuous link between these two phases of the church's history. She became a symbol of continuity, assuming greater importance at that time because of the strained relationship between [[Brigham Young]] and Joseph's widow, [[Emma Hale Smith|Emma]]. [[Hosea Stout]] noted in his diary on February 23, 1845, that Lucy spoke at a church meeting. All present were deeply moved as she spoke "with the most feeling and heartbroken manner" of "the trials and troubles she had passed through in establishing the Church of Christ and the persecutions and afflictions which her sons & husband had passed through" (1:23). Lucy also asked permission to speak at the October 1845 general conference in Nauvoo. After she had recited the sufferings of her family on behalf of the church, she asked if they considered her a mother in Israel. [[Brigham Young]] made it the formal conferring of a title by saying: "All who consider Mother Smith as a mother in Israel, signify by saying 'yes.' One universal 'yes' rang throughout" (HC 7:470-47 1).

Lucy did not comment about the difficulties she encountered with church leaders during the transitional period—troubles which, without doubt, were exacerbated by her son, [[William Smith (Mormonism)|William]]—but they are suggested in the few letters and second-hand accounts that have survived (Quaife, 246-48).

[[James Strang]] published a statement allegedly signed by William Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, and three of Joseph's sisters, certifying that "the Smith family do believe in the appointment of J. J. Strang" as Joseph's successor. However, Lucy Mack Smith addressed the saints at the October 1844 General Conference and stated that she hoped all her children would accompany the saints to the West, and if they did she would go. Brigham Young then said: "We have extended the helping hand to Mother Smith. She has the best carriage in the city, and, while she lives, shall ride in it when and where she pleases" (''[[Millennial Star]]'', Vol. VII, p. 23).

Whether Lucy shifted her support from Brigham Young to Strang in the year following that October Conference is a matter of debate. This is certain in that she never made it to Utah, instead she stayed with her daughter-in-law, Emma, and other family members (notably [[Joseph Smith III]], [[David Hyrum Smith]], [[Alexander Hale Smith]], and [[Frederick G.W. Smith]]) in Nauvoo until her death in the summer of 1856.

==Descendants==
{{See|List of descendants of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|2}}
*{{cite journal
| last = Arrington
| first = Leonard J.
| authorlink = Leonard J. Arrington
| coauthors =
| title = The Intellectual Tradition of the Latter-day Saints
| journal = [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]
| volume = 4
| issue = Spring
| pages = 13–26
| publisher =
| year = 1969
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| accessdate =
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Arrington
| first = Leonard J.
| authorlink = Leonard J. Arrington
| coauthor = Susan Arrington Madsen; Emily Madsen Jones
| title = Mothers of the Prophets
| chapter = Lucy Mack Smith
| year = 2009
| edition = 3rd
| publisher = [[Deseret Book]]
| location = Salt Lake City, Utah
| pages = 1–28
| isbn = 978-1-60641-044-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Buchan
| first = William
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Advice to Mothers on the Subject of Their Own Health and on the Means of Promoting the Health, Strength and Beauty of their Offspring
| publisher = John Bioren
| year = 1804
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| id =
}}
*{{cite book
| last =Buel
| first =Joy Day
| authorlink =
| coauthors =Richard Buel
| title =The Way of Duty: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America
| publisher =W. W. Norton & Company
| year =1995
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| isbn =0-393-31210-0
}}
*{{cite book
| last =Crosby
| first =Caroline Barnes
| authorlink =
| coauthors =Edward Lyman
| title =No Place to Call Home: The 1807-1857 Life Writings of Caroline Barnes Crosby, Chronicler of Outlying Mormon Communities (Life Writings of Frontier Women) (Life Writings Frontier Women)
| publisher =[[Utah State University Press]]
| year =2005
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| isbn =0-87421-601-X
}}
*{{cite book
| last =Kelley
| first =William
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Hill Cumorah and the Book of Mormon
| publisher =[[The Saints' Herald]]
| year =1881
| location = Plano, Illinois
| url = http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/Kelley.html
| doi =
| id =
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Marini
| first = Stephen A.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England
| publisher = [[Signature Books]]
| year = 2000
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-58348-531-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Shipps
| first = Jan
| authorlink = Jan Shipps
| coauthors =
| title = Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition
| publisher = [[University of Illinois Press]]
| year = 1987
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-252-01417-0 }}
*{{cite book
| first = Lucy Mack
| last = Smith
| title = [[Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations]]
| publisher = S.W. Richards
| location = Liverpool
| year = 1853
| id =
| url = http://relarchive.byu.edu/19th/descriptions/biographical.html
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Smith
| first = Lucy
| authorlink =
| coauthors = [[Lavina Fielding Anderson]] and Irene M. Bates
| title = Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir
| publisher = [[Signature Books]]
| year = 2001
| location =
| url = http://www.signaturebooks.com/lucy.htm
| doi =
| isbn = 1-56085-137-6
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Van Wagoner
| first = Richard S.
| authorlink = Richard S. Van Wagoner
| coauthor = Steven C. Walker
| title = A Book of Mormons
| chapter = Lucy Mack Smith
| year = 1982
| publisher = [[Signature Books]]
| location = Salt Lake City, Utah
| isbn = 0-941214-06-0
| url = http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/Mormons/lucy_smith.htm#Lucy
}}
*{{cite journal
| last = Welter
| first = Barbara
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860
| journal = [[American Quarterly]]
| volume = 18
| issue = 2–1
| pages = 151–174
| publisher =
| doi = 10.2307/2711179
| id =
| accessdate =
| month = October
| year = 1966

| jstor=2711179}}
*{{cite book
| last = Woloch
| first = Nany
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Women and the American Experience
| publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]]
| year = 1999
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-07-229319-5
}}
{{Refend}}

== External links==
*[http://www.josephsmithsr.com/home/index.html Joseph Smith Sr] The Joseph Smith Sr. & Lucy Mack Foundation
*{{findagrave|6337498}}
{{Persondata 
| NAME = Smith, Lucy Mack
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = July 8, 1775
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Gilsum, New Hampshire|Gilsum]], [[New Hampshire]]
| DATE OF DEATH = May 14, 1856
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Nauvoo, Illinois|Nauvoo]], [[Illinois]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lucy Mack}}
[[Category:1775 births]]
[[Category:1856 deaths]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saint writers]]
[[Category:Converts to Mormonism]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
[[Category:Leaders in the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)]]
[[Category:People from Cheshire County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People from Ontario County, New York]]
[[Category:Smith family]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]

[[pt:Lucy Mack Smith]]
[[sv:Lucy Mack Smith]]

Wort der Weisheit

2010-12-06T16:25:51Z

204.128.230.1: /* Hot drinks */

:''For the Pentecostal usage of this term, see [[Word of wisdom]].''

The '''"Word of Wisdom"''' is the common name of a section of the [[Doctrine and Covenants]],<ref>In the edition published by [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], it is {{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=Section 89}}. In the edition published by the [[Community of Christ]], it is [http://www.centerplace.org/hs/dc/rdc-086.htm section 86]. In older editions which are used by some other Latter Day Saint denominations, it is section 81.</ref> a book considered by many churches within the [[Latter Day Saint movement]] to consist of [[Revelation (Latter Day Saints)|revelations]] from [[God]]. It is also the name of a [[taboo food and drink|health code]] based on this scripture, practiced most strictly by [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), and to a lesser extent, some other Latter Day Saint denominations. In the LDS Church, compliance with the Word of Wisdom is currently a prerequisite for [[baptism]], service in [[Mormon missionary|missionary work]], attendance at [[Church Educational System|church schools]], and entry into the church's [[Temple (LDS Church)|temples]]; however, violation of the code is not considered to be grounds for [[excommunication]] or other disciplinary action.<ref>Church Handbook of Instructions (2006), p. 111.</ref>

The scripture discourages "hot drinks", the non-medicinal use of tobacco, the consumption of [[wine]] (excluding [[sacrament (Latter Day Saints)|sacramental]] wine) or "strong drinks", and encourages using [[meat]] sparingly. The scripture also recommends the consumption of herbs, fruits, and grains, as well as grain-based "mild drinks". As practiced by the LDS Church, there is no firm restriction relating to meat consumption, but there are additional restrictions against [[narcotic]]s, and all [[alcoholic beverage]]s are forbidden, including "mild drinks" such as beer. The LDS Church interprets "hot drinks" to mean [[coffee]] and [[tea]] (except [[herbal tea]]).

==Origin==
According to [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]], the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Word of Wisdom was received in 1833 as a revelation from God. After Smith's death, [[Brigham Young]] stated that the revelation was given in response to problems encountered while conducting meetings in the Smith family home:

<blockquote>
"When they assembled together in this room after breakfast, the first they did was to light their pipes, and, while smoking, talk about the great things of the kingdom, and spit all over the room, and as soon as the pipe was out of their mouths a large chew of tobacco would then be taken. Often when the Prophet [Joseph Smith] entered the room to give the school instructions he would find himself in a cloud of tobacco smoke. This, and the complaints of his wife at having to clean so filthy a floor, made the Prophet think upon the matter, and he inquired of the Lord relating to the conduct of the Elders in using tobacco, and the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was the result of his inquiry."<ref>Brigham Young, ''[[Journal of Discourses]]'', [http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/JournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=9838&filename=110504_183925_ep158_Va_M230_J82_v12.pdf vol. 12, p. 158].</ref>
</blockquote>

==Word of Wisdom revelation==
The revelation contains four parts:
#an introduction;<ref name = introduction>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=1|range=-4}}.</ref>
#a list of substances that should not be ingested, including [[wine]], strong drink, [[tobacco]] and "hot drinks";<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=5|range=-9}}.</ref>
#a list of foods that should be used, some with certain limitations;<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=10|range=-17}}.</ref> and
#a divine promise to those who follow the guidelines.<ref name = promise>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=18|range=-21}}</ref>

===Introduction===
The introduction and explanation as presented by Smith is:
<blockquote>
A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion— To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days— Given for a principle with a promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints. Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—<ref name = introduction/>
</blockquote>

===Prohibitions===
Among the substances which the revelation indicates should not be ingested, the first is "wine or strong drink", which the revelation says should not be drunk.<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=5}}</ref> (An exception is allowed for the use of "pure wine" as part of the [[Sacrament (Mormonism)|sacrament]] [[Ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|ordinance]],<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=5|range=-6}}</ref> though the LDS Church today uses water in place of wine.) The revelation also advises against the consumption of tobacco<ref name = tobacco>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=8}}</ref> and "hot drinks".<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=9}}</ref>

===Prescriptions===
The Word of Wisdom revelation also suggests proper uses for certain substances. While "strong drinks" are not to be ingested, they are appropriate when used "for the washing of your bodies";<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=7}}</ref> likewise, while human ingestion of tobacco is forbidden, tobacco is said to be "an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill."<ref name = tobacco/>

The list of foods and substances which the revelation encourages the use of includes "wholesome herbs [and] every fruit in the season thereof"<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=10|range=-11}}</ref> and "that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground".<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=16}}</ref> It also prescribes the use of "all grain", which is described as "the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field".<ref name = vfourteen>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=14}}</ref> [[Barley]] and other [[grain]]s are recommended for use in making "mild drinks".<ref name = vseventeen>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=17}}</ref> The flesh of "beasts and of the fowls of the air" may be used "sparingly" and "with thanksgiving",<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=12}}</ref> and ideally only in winter, cold weather, or during [[famine]].<ref name = versethirteen>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=13}}</ref> Flesh of wild animals is to be eaten only in times of famine or "excess of hunger".<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=14|range=-15}}</ref>

===Divine promise===
The Word of Wisdom states that it comprises a "principle with promise".<ref name = versethree>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=3}}</ref> The promise given to those who followed the advice of the word of wisdom is as follows:
<blockquote>
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.<ref name = promise/>
</blockquote>

==Application by Joseph Smith, Jr.==
Originally, abiding by the recommendations and prohibitions of the Word of Wisdom was not considered mandatory: it explicitly declares itself to be "not by commandment or constraint".<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=2}}.</ref> In February 1834, however, Joseph Smith, Jr. proposed a resolution before the [[High council (Latter Day Saints)|high council]] of the church that stated, "No official member in this Church is worthy to hold an office after having the word of wisdom properly taught him; and he, the official member, neglecting to comply with and obey it."<ref>Joseph Fielding Smith (ed.) (1938). ''[[Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book)|Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith]]'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book) p. 117, n. 9.</ref>This resolution was accepted unanimously by the council.<ref>Smith (1928) ''Teachings'', p. 117, n. 9.</ref>

In 1842, Smith's brother [[Hyrum Smith|Hyrum]], who was the [[Assistant President of the Church]] and its [[presiding patriarch]], provided an interpretation of the Word of Wisdom's proscription of "hot drinks":

<blockquote>
And again "hot drinks are not for the body, or belly;" there are many who wonder what this can mean; whether it refers to tea, or coffee, or not. I say it does refer to tea, and coffee.<ref>Hyrum Smith, [http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=9862&filename=4954.pdf "The Word of Wisdom"], ''[[Times and Seasons]]'', 1 June 1842, vol. 3, p. 800.</ref></blockquote>

According to a book written by LDS missionary and hymnographer [[Joel H. Johnson]] in 1881, Joseph Smith shared Hyrum's interpretation:

<blockquote>
I understand that some of the people are excusing themselves in using tea and coffee, because the Lord only said "hot drinks" in the revelation of the Word of Wisdom .... Tea and coffee ... are what the Lord meant when He said "hot drinks."<ref>In Joel H. Johnson (1881). ''Voice from the Mountains'' (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office) p. 12; cited in [[Church Educational System]] (2001). [http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/dc-in/manualindex.asp ''Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual: Religion 324 and 325]'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 209.</ref></blockquote>

The charge of "not observing the Word of Wisdom" was one of five leveled against [[David Whitmer]] on April 13, 1838, which led to his [[excommunication]].<ref>''[[History of the Church]]'', vol. 3, p. 18.</ref> Nevertheless, contemporary records indicate that [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] was not, himself, a strict observer. Smith is recorded at various times as drinking tea,<ref>''Diary of Joseph Smith'', March 11, 1843entry</ref> beer,<ref>''[[Millennial Star]]'', vol. 23, no. 45 [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/MStar&CISOPTR=22187&filename=22188.pdf p. 720] (9 November 1861).</ref> and wine.<ref>''[[History of the Church]]'' (January 1836), vol. 2, 369 ("Our hearts were made glad by the fruit of the vine."; ''[[History of the Church]]'' ()May 2, 1843, vol. 5, p. 380 ("Called at the office and drank a glass of wine with Sister Jenetta Richards, made by her mother in England,..."); ''[[History of the Church]]'' (June 27, 1844), vol. 6, p. 616 ("Dr. Richards uncorked the bottle, and presented a glass to Joseph, who tasted, as also Brother Taylor and the doctor..."); ''[[History of the Church]]'' (June 27, 1844, vol. 7, p. 101 ("Sometime after dinner we [John Taylor and other prisoners at [[Carthage Jail]]] sent for some wine. It has been reported by some that this was taken as a sacrament. It was no such thing; our spirits were generally dull and heavy, and it was sent for to revive us.... I believe we all drank of the wine, and gave some to one or two of the prison guards.").</ref> There is a report he also smoked tobacco: according to [[Amasa Lyman]], a member of the [[First Presidency]] under Smith,<ref>Because of a perceived [[heresy]], Lyman was stripped of his apostleship in 1867 and excommunicated in 1870, but his membership and apostleship were restored posthumously in 1909. See [[Amasa Lyman]].</ref> Smith once finished preaching a sermon on the Word of Wisdom and immediately afterward rode through the streets smoking a cigar.<ref>Diary of Abraham H. Cannon, vol. XIX (October 1895 entry); cited in Gary Dean Guthrie, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/MTGM,3264 ''Joseph Smith As An Administrator''], M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, May 1969, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/MTGM&CISOPTR=3264&filename=3265.pdf p. 161].</ref> According to Lyman, this was just one of many instances in which Smith "tried the faith of the Saints ... by his peculiarities." (One modern commentator has suggested that this may have been done by Smith to ensure that his followers' faith was based on the Latter Day Saint religion and not on Smith's personality or leadership.)<ref>Gary Dean Guthrie, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/MTGM,3264 ''Joseph Smith As An Administrator''], M.A. thesis, Brigham Young University, May 1969, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/MTGM&CISOPTR=3264&filename=3265.pdf p. 161].</ref>

On 19 August 1835, [[Almon W. Babbitt]] was brought before the church's [[High council (Latter Day Saints)|high council]] on three charges. On the charge of "not keeping the Word of Wisdom," Babbitt stated "that he had taken the liberty to break the Word of Wisdom, from the example of President Joseph Smith, Jun., and others, but acknowledged that it was wrong."<ref>Joseph Smith (1902, [[B. H. Roberts]] ed.). ''[[History of the Church]]'', vol. 2, p. 252.</ref>

==Interpretation by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints==
===Emphasized by Brigham Young===
After Smith's death, several factions emerged from the Latter Day Saint movement. The largest of these groups, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), was led by [[Brigham Young]]. At a [[General Conference (LDS Church)|general conference]] of the church held on September 9, 1851, Young called on the attendees to "leave off the use of" items mentioned in the Word of Wisdom:

<blockquote>
"The Patriarch [John Smith] again rose to speak on the Word of Wisdom, and urging on the brethren to leave off using tobacco, &c.

President Young rose to put the motion and called on all the sisters who will leave off the use of tea, coffee, &c., to manifest it by raising the right hand; seconded and carried.

And then put the following motion; calling on all the boys who were under ninety years of age who would covenant to leave off the use of tobacco, whisky, and all things mentioned in the Word of Wisdom, to manifest it in the same manner, which was carried unanimously."

The Patriarch then said, may the Lord bless you and help you to keep all your covenants. Amen.

President Young amongst other things said he knew the goodness of the people, and the Lord bears with our weakness; we must serve the Lord, and those who go with me will keep the Word of Wisdom, and if the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, and others will not serve the Lord, we will sever them from the Church. I will draw the line, and know who is for the Lord and who is not, and those who will not keep the Word of Wisdom, I will cut off from the Church; I throw out a challenge to all men and women.

<ref>[http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/MStar&CISOPTR=37435&filename=37436.pdf "Minutes of the General Conference"], Tuesday, Sep. 9, 1851, afternoon session; ''[[Millennial Star]]'', 1 February 1852, vol. 13, p. 35.</ref>
</blockquote>

Though Young encouraged Mormons to follow the Word of Wisdom code, the church was tolerant of those who did not follow it. In 1860, he counseled those chewing tobacco in church meetings to at least be discrete and not excessive, but did not charge users with sin.<ref>Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 361.</ref> By 1870, however, he ended the practice of chewing and spitting tobacco in the [[Salt Lake Tabernacle]].<ref>Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 344.</ref>

Young also recognized a separation between using tobacco (which was discouraged), and selling it to non-Mormons as a business (which was encouraged).<ref>Journal of Discourses, vol. 9, p. 35 (encouraging Mormons to raise and sell tobacco).</ref> He also owned and maintained a [[bar (establishment)|bar]] in Salt Lake City for the sale of alcoholic beverages to non-Mormon travelers, on the theory that it was better for LDS Church authorities to run such establishments than for outsiders.<ref>Hubert Howe Bancroft, ''History of Utah'', p. 540, n. 44.</ref>

===Meat===
The Word of Wisdom states that meat should not be eaten, except "in times of winter, or of cold, or famine".<ref name = versethirteen/> From 1898 to 1901, [[President of the Church|church president]] [[Lorenzo Snow]] repeatedly emphasized the importance of eating meat sparingly, teaching that church members should refrain from eating meat except in case of dire necessity, and should be seen in light of Joseph Smith's teaching that animals have spirits.<ref name = Alexander/> Apostle [[George Teasdale]] taught the same thing, and held that eating pork was a more serious breach of the Word of Wisdom than drinking tea or coffee.<ref name = Alexander/> Compliance with this injunction has never been made mandatory. When Joseph F. Smith succeeded Snow as president of the church in 1901, the emphasis on refraining from meat was dropped.<ref name = Alexander/> An official church publication states "[m]odern methods of refrigeration now make it possible to preserve meat in any season".<ref>[[Church Educational System]] (2001). [http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/dc-in/manualindex.asp ''Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual: Religion 324 and 325]'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 210.</ref>

===Beer===
The Word of Wisdom states in part,

<blockquote>
16. All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

17. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.<ref>{{sourcetext|source=The Doctrine and Covenants|book=D&C 89|verse=16|range=-17}}.</ref></blockquote>

The revelation suggests that barley-based mild drinks (such as [[beer]]) may be permissible.<ref name = vseventeen/> As recently as 1901, [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|Apostles]] [[Brigham Young, Jr.]] and [[John Henry Smith]] argued that the revelation did not prohibit beer.<ref name = Alexander>[[Thomas G. Alexander]], "The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement", ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' '''14''':3 (1981) pp. 78–88.</ref> However, LDS Church leaders now teach that consumption of any form of alcohol, including beer, violates the Word of Wisdom.<ref>LDS Church (2002, 2d ed.) [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=d093cb7a29c20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 “Chapter 27: The Word of Wisdom,”] ''Gospel Fundamentals'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church) p. 150.</ref><ref>[[Gordon B. Hinckley]], [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b4f935c4ceeae010VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 “The Body Is Sacred,”] ''[[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]'', Nov. 2006, pp. 2–5.</ref><ref>[[Thomas S. Monson]], [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=347e7264d3b9c110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 “Standards of Strength,”] ''[[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]'', Oct. 2008, pp. 2–5.</ref>

===Refined grain products===
In a pamphlet written in 1930 called ''The Word of Wisdom'', Apostle [[John A. Widtsoe]] taught that refined flour was contrary to the Word of Wisdom.<ref name = Alexander/>

===Standards of adherence===
Adherence to the proscriptions of the Word of Wisdom was not made a requirement for entry into LDS Church [[Temple (LDS Church)|temples]] until 1902. However, even then, [[President of the Church|church president]] [[Joseph F. Smith]] encouraged [[stake president]]s to be liberal with old men who used tobacco and old ladies who drank tea.<ref name = Alexander/> Of those who violated the revelation, it was mainly habitual drunkards that were excluded from the temple.<ref name = Alexander/> Around the turn of the century, the proscriptions of the Word of Wisdom were not strictly adhered to by such notable church leaders. [[Anthon H. Lund]], a First Counselor in the [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]], drank beer and wine; Apostle [[Matthias F. Cowley]] drank beer and wine; [[Charles W. Penrose]], who also served as a First Counselor in the First Presidency, drank wine; [[Relief Society]] president [[Emmeline B. Wells]] drank coffee; and church president [[George Albert Smith]] drank [[brandy]], for medicinal purposes.<ref name = Alexander/> In 1921, [[President of the Church|church president]] [[Heber J. Grant]] made adherence to the proscriptions of the Word of Wisdom an absolute requirement for entering the temple.<ref name = Alexander/>

Today, adherence to the proscriptions of the Word of Wisdom is required for [[baptism]]<ref>"To this day those regulations [of the Word of Wisdom] apply to every member and to everyone who seeks to join the Church. They are so compelling that no one is to be baptized into the Church without first agreeing to live by them.": [[Boyd K. Packer]], [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=00b27cf34f40c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____ “The Word of Wisdom: The Principle and the Promises,”] ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', May 1996, p. 17.</ref> and for entry into [[Temple (Latter Day Saints)|temples]] of the LDS Church.<ref name = temple>LDS Church (1997). [http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b3bc55cbf541229058520974e44916a0/?vgnextoid=32c41b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=fb2b7befabc20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0 “Chapter 29: The Lord’s Law of Health,”] ''Gospel Principles'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 192.</ref> BYU historian [[Thomas G. Alexander]] points out that while the original Word of Wisdom as a "principle with promise" was given by revelation, there is no evidence that any church leader has claimed a separate new revelation, or even a spiritual confirmation, of changing the Word of Wisdom from "a principle with promise" to a commandment.<ref name = Alexander/>

===Official modern interpretation===
The church's official statement on the interpretation of the Word of Wisdom is short: it reaffirms the long-standing meaning of "hot drinks" and extends the substances covered by prohibition:

<blockquote>
The only official interpretation of "hot drinks" (D&C 89:9) in the Word of Wisdom is the statement made by early Church leaders that the term "hot drinks" means tea and coffee.

Members should not use any substance that contains illegal drugs. Nor should members use harmful or habit-forming substances except under the care of a competent physician.<ref>LDS Church (2006). ''[[Church Handbook of Instructions]], Book 1: Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 185.</ref>
</blockquote>

Although avoiding the prohibitions of the Word of Wisdom is a requirement for admission to [[Temple (LDS Church)|LDS Church temples]],<ref name = temple/> violation of the Word of Wisdom no longer results in [[Disciplinary council|church discipline]], as it once did;<ref name = Alexander/> the church instructs its leaders that church discipline "should not be [used] to discipline or threaten members who do not comply with the Word of Wisdom".<ref>LDS Church (2006). ''[[Church Handbook of Instructions]], Book 1: Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 111.</ref>

==Popular application==
===Alcohol===
The prohibition of "wine or strong drink" is widely interpreted as a blanket prohibition of all [[alcoholic beverage]]s, regardless of the level of alcoholic content of the drink.

===Hot drinks===
Generally, members of the church view the prohibition on "hot drinks" as covering [[coffee]] and [[Camellia sinensis|tea]], whether or not the drinks are hot. There is generally thought to be no prohibition against [[Tisane|herbal tea]], [[hot chocolate]], or [[malt]] drinks such as [[Ovaltine]] or [[Milo (drink)|Milo]]. Other members choose to prohibit themselves from drinking any beverage that contains [[caffeine]].{{fact}}

===Cola and other caffeinated beverages===
A longstanding issue among members of the church is whether it is permissible to ingest drinks containing [[caffeine]] that are not coffee or tea. In 1918, [[Frederick J. Pack]], a Latter-day Saint professor at the [[University of Utah]], published an article in an official church magazine in which he reasoned that because [[Coca-Cola]] contained [[caffeine]], which is also present in tea and coffee, Latter-day Saints should abstain from Coca-Cola in the same way that they abstain from the Word of Wisdom "hot drinks".<ref>Frederick J. Pack, [http://search.ldslibrary.com/article/view/1634170?q= "Should Latter-Day Saints Drink Coca-Cola?"] ''[[Improvement Era]]'' '''21''':5 (Mar. 1918).</ref> Since Pack's article, many Latter-day Saints have come to believe that the reason tea and coffee are proscribed is the presence of caffeine in the drinks. However, the church has never stated that this is the reason for the prohibition.

The church has no official stance on the consumption of caffeinated beverages and the consumption of such does not constitute a violation of the Word of Wisdom. However, a number of church leaders have discouraged the use of such products. For example, in 1922, [[President of the Church|Church President]] [[Heber J. Grant]] counseled the Latter-day Saints:

<blockquote>
I am not going to give any command, but I will ask it as a personal, individual favor to me, to let coca-cola [sic] alone. There are plenty of other things you can get at the soda fountains without drinking that which is injurious. The Lord does not want you to use any drug that creates an appetite for itself.<ref>[http://search.ldslibrary.com/article/view/245630 ''Conference Report'', April 1922, p. 165].</ref>
</blockquote>

Two years after making this statement, Grant met with a representative of the [[Coca-Cola Company]] to discuss the church's position on Coca-Cola; at the conclusion of their second meeting, Grant stated that he was "sure I have not the slightest desire to recommend that the people leave Coca-Cola alone if th[e] amount [of caffeine in Coca-Cola] is absolutely harmless, which they claim it is".<ref name = Alexander/> Grant never again spoke out against the use of cola drinks.

Approximately fifty years later, the church issued an official statement which stated:

<blockquote>
With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided.<ref>LDS Church, ''Priesthood Bulletin'', Feb. 1972, p.4; quoted in [[Church Educational System]] (2001). [http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/dc-in/manualindex.asp ''Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual: Religion 324 and 325]'' (Salt Lake City: LDS Church) p. 209.</ref>
</blockquote>

Because of such statements, some adherents believe that caffeine is officially prohibited under the Word of Wisdom.<ref>Robert Kirby, "Mitt stirs up old caffeine controversy", ''[[Salt Lake Tribune]]'', 9 March 2007.</ref><ref>David A. Erickson, "Caffeine not prohibited" (letter to the editor), ''[[Deseret Morning News]]'', 3 January 2008.</ref> On the campus of [[Brigham Young University]], a church-owned school in [[Provo, Utah]], only caffeine-free beverages are sold.<ref>Melanie D. G. Kaplan, "Did you know ...", ''[[New York Times]]'', 1 August 2004.</ref> Official church publications have occasionally published articles by medical practitioners that warn of the health risks of consuming caffeine.<ref>See, e.g., Thomas J. Boud, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=30952f9318fcd110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 “The Energy Drink Epidemic,”] ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', Dec. 2008, pp. 48–52; Clifford J. Stratton, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=59488254a4ddb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Caffeine—The Subtle Addiction,”] ''[[Tambuli]]'', Mar. 1990, p. 25; William T. Stephenson, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=86c33645a2cba110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1 “Cancer, Nutrition, and the Word of Wisdom: One Doctor’s Observations,”] ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', July 2008, pp. 42–47.</ref>

===Other areas===
Speculation also exists concerning the use of [[Alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] as a cooking ingredient or the use of [[Decaffeination|decaffeinated]] coffee or tea.<ref>
{{Citation
| url = http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/whats-not-on-the-mormon-menu.html
| title = What's Not on the Mormon Menu
| accessdate = 2009-06-19
| publisher = Dummies.com
}}</ref> The LDS Church has taken no official stance on either.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

== Health studies regarding Latter-day Saints ==
A 14-year selective study conducted by [[UCLA]] [[epidemiologist]] James E. Enstrom tracked the health of 10,000 moderately active LDS people in [[California]] and ended in 1987. Of these non-[[Tobacco smoking|smoking]], [[monogamy|monogamous]] non-[[alcoholic beverage|drinkers]], Enstrom concluded from the study "that LDS Church members who follow religious mandates barring smoking and drinking have one of the lowest death rates from cancer and cardiovascular diseases—about half that of the general population. ... Moreover, the healthiest LDS Church members enjoy a life expectancy eight to eleven years longer than that of the general white population in the United States." The standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for whites in the general population is defined as 100. For males in the study, the SMRs "are 47 for all cancers, 52 for cardiovascular diseases, and 47 for all causes; the SMRs for females are 72 for all cancers, 64 for cardiovascular diseases, and 66 for all causes." For LDS [[High priest (Latter Day Saints)|high priests]] who never smoked cigarettes, exercised, and had proper sleep, the mortality rate was less. The results were largely duplicated in a separate study of an LDS-like subgroup of white non-smoking churchgoers in [[Alameda County, California]].<ref name="enstrom">Enstrom, 1989.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{Citation
| surname = Bush
| given = Lester E., Jr.
| url = http://content.lib.utah.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/dialogue&CISOPTR=6654&CISOSHOW=6557
| title=The Word of Wisdom in Early Nineteenth-Century Perspective
| journal = [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]
| year=1981
| volume=14
| issue=3
| pages=46–65
| format = {{dead link|date=March 2010}}
}}
* {{Citation
| last=Enstrom
| first=J.E.
| title=Health practices and cancer mortality among active California Mormons
| journal=Journal of the National Cancer Institute
| year=1989
| volume=6:81
| issue = 23
| pages=1807–14
| pmid=2585528
}}
*{{Citation
| last=Ford
| first=Clyde
| title=The Origin of the Word of Wisdom
| journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]]
| volume=24
| issue=2
| pages=129–54
| year=1998
| url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,13129
}}.
*{{Citation
| last=Larson
| first=Stan
| title=Synoptic Minutes of a Quarterly Conference of the Twelve Apostles: The Clawson and Lund Diaries of July 9–11, 1901
| journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]]
| year=1988
| volume=14
| pages=97–119
| url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,16400
}}.
*{{Citation
| last=McCue
| first=Robert J.
| title=Did the Word of Wisdom Become a Commandment in 1851?
| journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]
| volume=14
| issue=2
| year=1981
| pages=66–77
| url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,6577
}}
*{{Citation
| last=Smith
| first=Joseph, Jr.
| author-link = Joseph Smith, Jr.
| contribution = A Word of Wisdom
| year=1833
| editor1-last = Smith
| editor1-first = Joseph, Jr.
| editor1-link = Joseph Smith, Jr.
| editor2-last = Cowdery
| editor2-first = Oliver
| editor2-link = Oliver Cowdery
| editor3-last = Rigdon
| editor3-first = Sidney
| editor3-link = Sidney Rigdon
| editor4-last = Williams
| editor4-first = Frederick G.
| author4-link = Frederick G. Williams
| title=Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God
| place=Kirtland, Ohio
| publisher=F. G. Williams & Co
| publication-date=1835
| contribution-url=http://www.irr.org/mit/d&c/1835dc-p207.html
| pages=207–08 (section LXXX)
}}.
*{{Citation
| last=Thompson
| first=Brent G.
| title='Standing between Two Fires': Mormons and Prohibition, 1908–1917
| journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]]
| pages=35–52
| year=1983
| volume=10
| url=http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/jmh,17670
}}.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Word Of Wisdom}}
[[Category:1833 works]]
[[Category:Doctrine and Covenants]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and practices]]
[[Category:Religion-based diets]]
[[Category:Religious law]]
[[Category:Works by Joseph Smith, Jr.]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint terms]]

[[es:Palabra de Sabiduría]]
[[fi:Viisauden sana]]
[[pl:Słowo mądrości]]
[[pt:Palavra de Sabedoria]]

David Brock

2010-10-20T21:12:40Z

204.128.230.1: /* Background */

{{BLP sources|date=January 2009}}
{{Infobox journalist
| name = David Brock
| image =
| caption =
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|11|2}}
| birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| occupation = [[journalist]], [[Pundit (expert)|Pundit]], [[author]]
| ethnicity =
| religion =
| salary =
| networth =
| credits =
| agent =
| URL =
}}

'''David Brock''' (born November 2, 1962) is an American journalist and author and the founder of [[Media Matters for America]]. He was a journalist during the 1990s.<ref name="apology">{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse/ | title=Reporter Apologizes For Clinton Sex Article | publisher=[[CNN]] |date= March 10, 1998 | first= | last= | accessdate =2008-10-17 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080614124146/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse/  |archivedate = 2008-06-14}}</ref> During that time he was best known for his book ''[[The Real Anita Hill]]'' and authoring the [[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|Troopergate]] story, which led to [[Paula Jones]] filing a lawsuit against [[Bill Clinton]]. He tells his personal story in his memoir ''[[Blinded by the Right]]'' and criticizes the "conservative media machine" in his book ''[[The Republican Noise Machine]]''. His work on the latter book led him to found [[Media Matters for America]], a non-profit organization that describes itself as a "progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mediamatters.org/about_us/|title=Who We Are|publisher=Media Matters for America|accessdate=2008-09-23}}</ref>

== Background ==

Brock was born in [[Washington, D.C.]], and adopted by Dorothea and Raymond Brock.<ref name=blind1/> He has a younger sister, Regina. Brock's family was [[Catholic]] and his father held strong [[conservative]] beliefs.<ref name=blind1>Stated in Brock's ''[[Blinded by the Right]]''</ref>

Brock graduated from [[Paramus High School]] in [[Paramus, New Jersey]] and then attended the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. There he worked as a reporter and editor for ''[[The Daily Californian]]'', the campus newspaper, sometimes expressing conservative views. He was an intern at ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. He graduated from Berkeley with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in History in 1985.

In 1986, he joined the staff of the weekly conservative news magazine ''[[Insight (magazine)|Insight on the News]]'', a sister publication of ''[[The Washington Times]]''. After a stint as a research fellow at the [[Heritage Foundation]], in March 1992 Brock authored a sharply critical story about [[Clarence Thomas]]' accuser, [[Anita Hill]], in ''[[The American Spectator]]'' magazine. A little over a year later, in April 1993, Brock published a book titled ''[[The Real Anita Hill]]'' which expanded upon previous assertions that had cast doubt on the veracity of Anita Hill's claims of sexual harassment.

The book became a best-seller. It was later attacked in a book review in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' by [[Jane Mayer]], a reporter for ''The New Yorker'', and Jill Abramson, a reporter for ''The Wall Street Journal''. The two later expanded their article into the book ''Strange Justice'', which cast Anita Hill in a much more sympathetic light. It, too, was a best-seller. Brock replied to their book with a book review of his own in ''The American Spectator''.

In the January 1994, issue of ''The American Spectator,'' Brock, by then on staff at the magazine, published a story about [[Bill Clinton]]'s time as governor of [[Arkansas]] that made accusations that bred [[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|Troopergate]].<ref name="apology"/> Among other things, the story contained the first printed reference to [[Paula Jones]], referring to a woman named "Paula" who state troopers said offered to be Clinton's partner.<ref name="apology"/> Jones called Brock's account of her encounter with Clinton "totally wrong," and she later sued Clinton for [[sexual harassment]], a case which became entangled in the [[Kenneth Starr|Independent Counsel]]'s investigation of the [[Whitewater scandal]] and eventually led to the impeachment of the president. The story received an award later that year from the Western Journalism Center, and was partially responsible for a rise in the 25-year-old magazine's circulation, from around 70,000 to over 300,000 in a very short period.{{fact}}

== Shift to the left ==
Three years later, Brock surprised conservatives by publishing a somewhat sympathetic [[biography]] of [[Hillary Clinton]], titled ''[[The Seduction of Hillary Rodham]]''. Having received a $1 million advance and a tight one-year deadline from [[Simon & Schuster|Simon & Schuster's]] then-conservative-focused Free Press subsidiary, Brock was under tremendous pressure to produce another best-seller. However, the book contained no major scoops. In ''Blinded by the Right'' (2002), Brock said that he had reached a turning point — he had thoroughly examined charges against the Clintons, could not find any evidence of wrongdoing, and did not want to make any more misleading claims. Brock further said that his former friends in right-wing politics shunned him because ''Seduction'' did not adequately attack the Clintons. He also argued that his "friends" had not really been friends at all, due to the open secret that Brock was [[gay]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D91039F937A15750C0A9649C8B63&pagewanted=all|author=Bruni, Frank|title=Sorry About That|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=2002-03-24|accessdate=2009-03-11}}</ref>

In July 1997, Brock published a confessional piece in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine titled "Confessions of a Right-Wing Hit Man", in which he recanted much of what he said in his two best-known ''American Spectator'' articles and criticized his own reporting methods. Discouraged at the reaction his [[Hillary Clinton]] biography received, he said, "I... want out. David Brock the Road Warrior of the Right is dead." Four months later, ''The American Spectator'' declined to renew his employment contract, under which he was being paid over $300,000 per year.

Writing again for ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' in April 1998, Brock apologized to Clinton for his contributions to [[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|Troopergate]], calling it simply part of an anti-Clinton crusade.<ref name="apology"/> He told a more detailed story of his time inside the right wing in his 2001 memoir, ''Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative,'' in which he settled old scores and provided inside details about the [[Arkansas Project]]'s efforts to bring down Clinton. Later, he also apologized to [[Anita Hill]].

In 2001, Brock accused one of his former sources, Terry Wooten, of leaking FBI files for use in his book about Anita Hill. Brock defended his betrayal of a confidential source by saying, "I've concluded that what I was involved in wasn't journalism, it was a political operation, and I was part of it...So I don't think the normal rules of journalism would apply to what I was doing."<ref name=WPKurtz>{{cite web
| title = Jerry's Kidding, Edited Out
| last = Kurtz
| first = Howard
| date = 2001-09-01
| publisher = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Brock directly addressed the right-wing "machine" in his 2004 book, ''The Republican Noise Machine'', in which he detailed an alleged interconnected, concerted effort to raise the profile of conservative opinions in the press through false accusations of [[liberal media bias]], dishonest and highly-[[partisan (political)|partisan]] columnists, partisan news organizations and academic studies, and other methods. Also in 2004, he featured briefly in the [[BBC]] series [[The Power of Nightmares]], where he stated that the [[Arkansas Project]] engaged in political terrorism.

About the same time he founded [[Media Matters for America]], an Internet-based progressive media watchdog group "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media".

==Books==
*''[[The Real Anita Hill|The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story]]''. Free Press, 1993. ISBN 978-0029046562
*''[[The Seduction of Hillary Rodham]]''. 1996, Free Press. ISBN 978-0684837703
*''[[Blinded by the Right|Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative]].'' 2002, Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1400047284
*''[[The Republican Noise Machine|The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy]].'' 2004, Crown. ISBN 978-1400048755
*''[[Free Ride: John McCain and the Media]]'' with Paul Waldman. 2008, Anchor. ISBN 0307279405

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://mediamatters.org/ Media Matters for America]
*[http://www.guernicamag.com/features/773/antidrudge_1/ Anti-Drudge, Brock Profile in] [[Guernica Magazine]]
*[http://www.booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1153 ''Booknotes'' interview with Brock on ''The Real Anita Hill'', June 13, 1993.]
* [http://www.slate.com/id/3654/entry/23928/ Right-Wing Journalism dialog with David Brock and Tucker Carlson, Slate] (June 25, 1997)
* [http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=6736 David Brock, "His Cheatin’ Heart," The American Spectator] (January 1994) (The "Troopergate" Story)

{{Persondata 
| NAME =Brock, David
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =1962-11-02
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, David}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:American adoptees]]
[[Category:American media critics]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American Spectator people]]
[[Category:Heritage Foundation]]
[[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Paramus, New Jersey]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]

[[sh:David Brock]]

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion

2010-07-08T23:31:22Z

204.128.230.1: /* Games using SSAO */

[[Image:Screen space ambient occlusion.jpg|right|thumb|300px|SSAO component of typical game scene.]]
'''Screen Space Ambient Occlusion''' (SSAO) is a rendering technique for efficiently approximating the well-known computer graphics [[ambient occlusion]] effect in real time. It was used for the first time in a video game in the 2007 PC game [[Crysis]] made by [[Crytek]].

The algorithm is executed purely on the computer's [[Graphics Processing Unit|GPU]] and implemented as a [[pixel shader]], analyzing the scene [[depth buffer]] which is stored in a texture. For every [[pixel]] on the screen, the pixel shader samples the depth values around the current pixel and tries to compute the amount of occlusion from each of the sampled points. In its simplest implementation, the occlusion factor depends only on the depth difference between sampled point and current point.


Without additional smart solutions, such a brute force method would require about 200 texture reads per pixel for good visual quality. This is not acceptable for real-time rendering on modern graphics hardware. In order to get high quality results with far fewer reads, sampling is performed using a randomly-rotated kernel. The kernel orientation is repeated every ''N'' screen pixels in order to have only high-frequency noise in the final picture. In the end this high frequency noise is greatly removed by a ''N''x''N'' post-process blurring step taking into account depth discontinuities (using methods such as comparing adjacent normals and depths). Such a solution allows a reduction in the number of depth samples per pixel to about 16 or less while maintaining a high quality result, and allows the use of SSAO in real-time applications like computer games.

Compared to other [[ambient occlusion]] solutions, SSAO has the following advantages:
* Independent from scene complexity.
* No data pre-processing needed, no loading time and no memory allocations in system memory.
* Works with dynamic scenes.
* Works in the same consistent way for every pixel on the screen.
* No [[CPU]] usage – It is executed completely on the GPU.
* May be easily integrated into any modern graphics pipeline.
Of course, it has its disadvantages, as well:
* Rather local and in many cases view-dependent, as it is dependent on adjacent texel depths which may be generated by any geometry whatsoever.
* Hard to correctly smooth/blur out the noise without interfering with depth discontinuities, such as object edges (the occlusion should not "bleed" onto objects).

==Games using SSAO==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2010}}
* [[Crysis]] (2007) (PC)
* [[Crysis Warhead]] (2008) (PC)
* [[Battlefield: Bad Company 2]] (2010) (PC)
* [[Gears of War 2]] (2008) (Xbox 360)
* [[S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky]] (2008) (PC)
* [[Bionic Commando]] (2009) (PC and Xbox 360 version)
* [[Burnout Paradise|Burnout: Paradise the Ultimate Box]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Empire Total War]] (2009)(PC)
* [[Napoleon Total War]] (2010)(PC)
* [[Risen]] (2009) (PC and Xbox 360 version)
* [[Battleforge]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Borderlands (video game)|Borderlands]] (2009) (PC and Xbox 360 version)
* [[F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Fight Night Round 4]] (2009) (Playstation3 and Xbox 360)
* [[Batman: Arkham Asylum]] (2009) (PC and Xbox 360 version)
* [[Uncharted 2: Among Thieves]] (2009) (Playstation 3)
* [[Shattered Horizon]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Necrovision]] (2009) (PC)
* [[The Saboteur]] (2009) (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC)
* [[S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Red Faction: Guerrilla]] (2009) (PC)
* [[Star Trek Online]] (2010) (PC)
* [[Just Cause 2]] (2010) (PC)
* [[Metro 2033]] (2010) (PC and Xbox 360 version)
* [[Dead to Rights: Retribution]] (2010) (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
* [[Alan Wake]] (2010) (Xbox 360)<ref>http://forum.alanwake.com/showthread.php?t=1216</ref>
* [[Toy Story 3: The Video Game]] (2010) (Playstation3 and Xbox 360) <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story_3:_The_Video_Game</ref>
* [[Halo: Reach]] (2010) (Xbox 360)<ref>http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BWU_041610</ref><ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-haloreach-beta-analysis-blog-entry</ref>
* [[Starcraft II]] (2010) (PC)
*[[LittleBigPlanet 2]] (2010) (Playstation 3)
* [[City of Heroes]] (2010) (PC) <ref>http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/patch_notes/issue_17_release_notes.html</ref>
* [[ArmA 2|ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead]] (2010) (PC)<ref>http://community.bistudio.com/wiki?title=Ask_Bohemia_%28about_Operation_Arrowhead..._or_anything_else_you_want_to_ask%29%21&rcid=57637#Improvements_In_The_Original_ARMA_2_Game</ref>
* [[Settlers 7]] (2010) (PC) <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDFqgLSAPzU</ref>


==See also==
*[[Ambient occlusion]]

*[[CryEngine 2]], [[CryEngine 3]]
*[[Leadwerks Engine]]
*[[Unreal Engine 3]]
*[[Unity (game engine)|Unity Engine]]
*[[Esenthel Engine]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1290000/1281671/p97-mittring.pdf?key1=1281671&key2=9942678811&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=15151515&CFTOKEN=6184618 Finding Next Gen – CryEngine 2]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2592720445119800709&hl=en Video showing SSAO in action]
* [http://graphics.uni-konstanz.de/publikationen/2006/unsharp_masking/Luft%20et%20al.%20--%20Image%20Enhancement%20by%20Unsharp%20Masking%20the%20Depth%20Buffer.pdf Image Enhancement by Unsharp Masking the Depth Buffer]
* [http://perumaal.googlepages.com/ Hardware Accelerated Ambient Occlusion Techniques on GPUs]
* [http://meshula.net/wordpress/?p=145 Overview on Screen Space Ambient Occlusion Techniques]
* [http://developer.download.nvidia.com/presentations/2008/GDC/GDC08_Ambient_Occlusion.pdf Real-Time Depth Buffer Based Ambient Occlusion]
* [http://www.pastebin.ca/953523 Source code of SSAO shader used in Crysis]
* [http://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/~ritschel/Papers/SSDO.pdf Approximating Dynamic Global Illumination in Image Space]
* [http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=527170 Accumulative Screen Space Ambient Occlusion]
* [http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_ambientocclusion_home.html NVIDIA has integrated SSAO into drivers]
* [http://www.shaderx7.com/TOC.html Several methods of SSAO are described in ShaderX7 book]
* [http://lwengine.net.ru/article/DirectX_10/ssao_directx10 SSAO Shader ( Russian )]
[[Category:3D computer graphics]]

[[ru:Screen Space Ambient Occlusion]]

Liste europäischer Inseln nach Fläche

2009-12-15T16:10:43Z

204.128.230.1: /* Islands over 200 km² */

This is a '''list of [[island]]s in Europe ordered by area'''. As a main rule, freshwater islands are not listed.

==Islands over 200 km²==


{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank!!Island!!Area (km²)!!Area (sq mi)!!Country/Countries/Region
|-
| 1||[[Great Britain]]||218,595||84,400||{{UK}}
|-
| 2||[[Iceland]] (main island)||101,826||39,315||{{Flag|Iceland}}
|-
| 3||[[Ireland]]||81,638||31,521||{{Flag|Ireland}}, {{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| 4||[[Severny Island|Northern Island (Ostrov Severny)]] of [[Novaya Zemlya]]||47,079||18,177||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| 5||[[Spitsbergen]]||37,673||14,546||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| 6||[[Yuzhny Island|Southern Island (Ostrov Yuzhny)]] of [[Novaya Zemlya]]||33,246||12,836||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|7||[[Sicily]]||25,662||9,908||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
|8||[[Sardinia]]||23,949||9,247||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
|9||[[Nordaustlandet]]||14,443||5,576||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|10||[[Cyprus]]||9,234||3,572||{{Flag|Cyprus}}
|-
|11||[[Corsica]]||8,741||3,351||{{Flag|France}}
|-
|12||[[Crete]]||8,312||3,209||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|13||[[Zealand]]||7,180||2,715||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|14||[[Edgeøya]]||5,074||1,959||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|15||[[Kolguyev]]||4,968||1,918||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|16||[[Vendsyssel-Thy]]||4,685||1,809||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|17||[[Majorca]]||3,667||1,416||{{Flag|Spain}}
|-
|18||[[Euboea]]||3,655||1,411||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|19||[[Vaygach Island]]||3,329||1,306||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|20||[[Fyn]]||3,012||1,163||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|21||[[Gotland]]||2,994||1,156||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
|22||[[Zemlya Georga]]||2,821||1,089||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|23||[[Saaremaa]]||2,672||1,032||{{Flag|Estonia}}
|-
|24||[[Hinnøya]]||2,198||849||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|25||[[Lewis and Harris]]||2,179||841||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|26||[[Skye]]||1,656||639||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|27||[[Soisalo]]||1,638||631||{{Flag|Finland}} (Largest freshwater island of Europe)
|-
|28||[[Lesbos]]||1,630||629||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|29||[[Senja]]||1,586||612||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|30||[[Graham Bell Island]]||1,557||601||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|31||[[Rhodes]]||1,398||540||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|32||[[Öland]]||1,347||520||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
|33||[[Barents Island]]||1,288||497||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|34||[[Lolland]]||1,243||480||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|35||[[Zemlya Aleksandry]]||1,095||423||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|36||[[Gallya]]||1,049||405||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|37||[[Hiiumaa]]||989||382||{{Flag|Estonia}}
|-
|38||[[Mainland, Shetland]]||969||374||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|39||[[Salisbury Island (Russia)]]||960||371||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|40||[[Rügen]]||926||358||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
|41||[[Isle of Mull]]||875||338||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|42||[[Langøya]]||850||328||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|43||[[Chios]]||842||324||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|44||[[Sørøya]]||811||313||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|45||[[Kefalonia]]||781||301||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|46||[[São Miguel Island]]||759||293||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
|47||[[Mezhdusharskiy Island]]||748||288||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|48||[[Madeira Island]]||741||286||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
|49||[[Kvaløya]] (in [[Troms]])||737||284||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|50||[[Anglesey]]||714||276||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|51||[[Minorca]]||694||268||{{Flag|Spain}}
|-
|52||[[Fasta Åland]] ([[Åland]] mainland)||685||265||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
|53||[[Kvitøya]]||682||264||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|54||[[Ringvassøya]]||656||253||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|55||[[Islay]]||620||239||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|56||[[Prince Charles Foreland]]||615||237||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|57||[[McClintock Island]]||612||236||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|58||[[Corfu]]||592||229||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|59||[[Bornholm]]||588||227||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|60||[[Hitra]]||572||221||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|61||[[Isle of Man]]||572||221||{{Flag|Isle of Man}}, {{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|62||[[Ibiza]]||571||220||{{Flag|Spain}}
|-
|63||[[Seiland]]||559||216||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|64||[[Austvågøya]]||527||203||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|65||[[Kimitoön (island)]] (Kemiönsaari)||524||202||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
|66||[[Mainland, Orkney]]||523||202||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|67||[[Jackson Island]]||521||201||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|68||[[Falster]]||514||199||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|69||[[Andøya]]||489||189||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|70||[[Ronser Island]]||478||185||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|71||[[Samos Island|Samos]]||476||184||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|72||[[Lemnos]]||476||184||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|73||[[Hooker Island]]||460||177||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|74||[[Ziegler Island]]||448||173||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|75||[[Pico Island]]||446||172||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
|76||[[Usedom]]||445||172||{{Flag|Germany}} and {{Flag|Poland}}
|-
|77||[[Magerøya]]||437||169||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|78||[[Isle of Arran]]||432||167||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|79||[[Naxos Island|Naxos]]||428||165||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|80||[[Vestvågøy]]||411||159||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|81||[[Zakynthos]]||406||158||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|82||[[Cres]]||405||158||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|83||[[Krk]]||405||158||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|84||[[Terceira Island]]||403||156||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
|85||[[Brač]]||396||153||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|86||[[Isle of Wight]]||381||147||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|87||[[Jan Mayen]]||380||147||[[Jan Mayen]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|88||[[Andros]]||380||147||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|89||[[Thasos]]||379||146||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|90||[[Champ Island]]||374||144||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|91||[[Streymoy]]||374||144||{{Flag|Faroe Islands}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|92||[[Luigi Island]]||371||143||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|93||[[Mors (island)|Mors]]||368||142||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|94||[[Jura, Scotland|Jura]]||367||142||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|95||[[Orust]]||346||133||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
|96||[[Salm Island]]||344||133||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|97||[[Kvaløya, Finnmark]]||336||129||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|98||[[Charles Alexander Island]]||329||127||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|99||[[Osterøy]]||329||127||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|100||[[Als Island|Als]]||321||125||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|101||[[South Uist]]||320||124||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|102||[[Lefkada|Leucas]]||303||117||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|103||[[North Uist]]||303||117||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|104||[[Karpathos]]||301||300||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|105||[[Hvar]]||300||116||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|106||[[Rudolf Island]]||296||114||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|107||[[Kos]]||290||112||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|108||[[Imbros]]||289||111||{{Flag|Turkey}}
|-
|109||[[Northbrook Island]]||289||111||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|110||[[Eva-Liv Island]]||288||110||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|111||[[Eysturoy]]||286||110||{{Flag|Faroe Islands}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|112||[[Pag]]||285||109||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|113||[[Langeland]]||284||109||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|114||[[Korcula]]||279||108||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
|115||[[Cythera]]||278||107||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|116||[[Arnøya]]||276||107||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|117||[[Wolin]]||265||103||{{Flag|Poland}}
|-
|118||[[Icaria]]||255||98||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|119||[[Bolshoy Solovetsky Island]] (main island of [[Solovetsky Islands]])||246||95||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|120||[[Malta]]||246||95||{{Flag|Malta}}
|-
|121||[[São Jorge Island]]||246||95||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
|122||[[Stord]]||241||93||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|123||[[Wiener Neustadt Island]]||237||91||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
|124||[[Vanna (Troms)]]||232||90||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|125||[[Stjernøya]]||231||90||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|126||[[Møn]]||226||88||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
|127||[[Elba]]||224||86||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
|128||[[Smøla]]||218||84||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
|129||[[Yell (island)|Yell]]||212||82||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
|130||[[Scyros]]||209||81||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
|131||[[Muhu]]||206||80||{{Flag|Estonia}}
|}

==Islands 100 km²-200 km²==
This section of the list is not complete.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!!rowspan=2|Island’s Name!!colspan=2|Area!!rowspan=2|Country/Countries/Region
|-
! !!(km²)!!(sq mi)
|-
| [[Hisingen]]||199||77||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Tysnesøy]]||198||77||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Hailuoto]]||195||75||[[Image:Flag of Finland.svg|20px|Finland]] [[Finland]]
|-
| [[Tinos]]||195||75||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Paros]]||194||74||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Bruce Island]]||191||73||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Kongsøya]]||191||73||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Oléron]]||190||73||{{Flag|France}}
|-
| [[Tjeldøya]]||187||72||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Moskenesøya]]||186||72||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Fehmarn]]||185||71||[[Image:Flag of Germany.svg|20px|Germany]] [[Germany]]
|-
| [[Värmdön]]||181||70||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Bear Island]] ([[Bjørnøya]])||178||69||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Samothrace]]||178||69||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Karmøy]]||177||68||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Sotra]]||176||68||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Vágar]]||176||68||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Faial Island]]||173||67||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
| [[Bømlo]]||171||66||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Texel]]||170||66||{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| [[Hareidlandet]]||166||64||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Averøy]]||165||64||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Nansen Island (Russia)]]||164||63||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Suðuroy]]||163||63||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Vega, Norway]]||163||63||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Payer Island]]||160||62||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Replot]] ([[Raippaluoto]])||160||62||[[Image:Flag of Finland.svg|20px|Finland]] [[Finland]]
|-
| [[Alsten]]||153||59||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Milos]]||151||58||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Tjörn]]||148||57||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Frøya, Sør-Trøndelag|Frøya]]||147||57||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Reinøya]]||147||57||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Achill]]||146||57||[[Image:Flag of Ireland.svg|20px|Ireland]] [[Ireland]]
|-
| [[Flores Island]]||143||55||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
| [[Hoy]]||143||55||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Otterøy]]||143||55||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Ertvågsøy]]||140||54||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Rainer Island]]||140||54||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Gurskøy]]||139||53||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Svenskøya]]||137||53||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Andørja]]||135||52||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Dønna]]||135||52||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Föglö]]||132||52||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Hayes Island]]||132||52||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Bremangerlandet]]||131||51||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kea]]||131||51||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Skogerøya]]||129||50||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Greely Island]]||127||49||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Sandoy]]||125||48||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Dugi Otok]]||124||48||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Bute]]||122||47||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Amorgos]]||121||47||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Unst]]||121||47||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Wilhelmøya]]||120||47||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Jersey]]||116||45||[[Image:Flag of Jersey.svg|20px|Jersey]] [[Jersey]], British [[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|20px|United Kingdom]] [[Crown dependency]]
|-
| [[Læsø]]||116||45||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Sula (Sogn og Fjordane)]]||116||45||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Samsø]]||114||44||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Fårö]]||113||44||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Marmara Island]]||113||44||[[Image:Flag of Turkey.svg|20px|Turkey]] [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[Arthur Island]]||111||43||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Kalymnos]]||111||43||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Flakstadøya]]||110||42||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Morzhovets Island]]||110||42||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Grytøya]]||108||41||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Ios]]||108||41||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Sant'Antioco]]||108||41||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Rolla (Troms)]]||107||41||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Otava (island)|Otava]]||105||40||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Rùm]]||105||40||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Lågøya]]||104||40||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Brändö]]||103||40||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Radøy]]||103||40||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Sandhornøya]]||103||40||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Hadseløya]]||102||39||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Vårdö]]||102||39||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|}

==Islands 50 km²-100 km²==
This section of the list is not complete. Data for some islands is missing, particularly for some Arctic islands in [[Russia]] and [[Svalbard]].

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!!rowspan=2|Island’s Name!!colspan=2|Area!!rowspan=2|Country/Countries/Region
|-
! !!(km²)!!(sq mi)
|-
| [[Mljet]]||100||39||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Kythnos]]||99||38||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Sylt]]||99||38||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Askøy (island)|Askøy]]||99||38||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Santa Maria Island]]||97||37||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
| [[Astypalaia]]||97||38||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Amager]]||96||37||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Ithaki]]||96||37||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Borðoy]]||95||37||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Salamis Island|Salamis]]||95||37||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Skopelos]]||95||37||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Rab]]||94||37||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Sheppey]]||94||36||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Gräsö]]||93||36||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Lemland]]||92||36||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vormsi]]||92||36||{{Flag|Estonia}}
|-
| [[Eckerö]]||91||36||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Öja (island)]]||90||35||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vis]]||90||35||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Rolvsøy (Finnmark)]]||89||34||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Tustna]]||89||34||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Austra]]||88||34||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Holsnøy]]||88||34||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Terschelling]]||88||34||{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| [[Ærø]]||88||34||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Belle Île]]||87||34||{{Flag|France}}
|-
| [[Myconos]]||86||34||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Kågen]]||86||33||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Île de Ré]]||85||33||{{Flag|France}}
|-
| [[Kotlin]]||84||33||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Nord-Kvaløya]]||84||33||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Syros]]||84||33||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Aegina]]||83||32||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Formentera]]||83||32||{{Flag|Spain}}
|-
| [[Pantelleria]]||83||32||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Ytre Vikna]] (outer island of [[Vikna]] archipelago)||83||32||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Benbecula]]||82||32||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Rebbenesøya]]||82||32||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Föhr]]||82||32||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Tiree]]||78||30||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Uløya]]||78||30||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Coll]]||77||30||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Otrøy]] (in [[Møre og Romsdal]])||76||29||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Santorini]]||76||29||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Lošinj]]||74||29||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Hertsön]]||73||28||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Serifos]]||73||29||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Sifnos]]||73||29||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Storlandet]] (Finnish: [[Iso-Nauvo]]) ([[Nagu]]/[[Nauvo]] main island)||72||29||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Tåsinge]]||70||27||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Ålön]] (in [[Pargas]]/[[Parainen]])||70||27||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Engeløya]]||68||26||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Finnøya]] (in [[Nordland]])||68||26||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Alnön]]||68||26||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Gozo]]||67||26||{{Flag|Malta}}
|-
| [[Kassos]]||66||26||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Kyrklandet]] (in [[Korpo]]/[[Korppoo]])||64||25||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Alonissos]]||64||25||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Vågsøy]]||64||25||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Frei]]||63||24||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Guernsey]]||63||24||[[Image:Flag of Guernsey.svg|20px|Guernsey]] [[Guernsey]], British [[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|20px|United Kingdom]] [[Crown dependency]]
|-
| [[Ingarö]]||63||24||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Pasman]]||63||25||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Tilos]]||63||25||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Graciosa Island]]||62||24||{{Flag|Portugal}}
|-
| [[Ljusterö]]||62||24||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Bolshoy Berezovy]] (in [[Berezovye Islands]], [[Gulf of Finland]])||60||23||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Leka, Norway|Leka]]||60||23||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Sula, Norway|Sula]] (in [[Møre og Romsdal]])||59||23||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Barra]]||59||23||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Šolta]]||59||23||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Ombo]]||58||22||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Ameland]]||58||22||{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| [[Symi]]||58||22||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Kivimaa]] (in [[Gustavs]]/[[Kustavi]])||57||22||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Fanø]]||56||21.5||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Dzharylgach]]||56||21.5||{{Flag|Ukraine}}
|-
| [[Île de Noirmoutier]]||55.5||21.5||{{Flag|France}}
|-
| [[Jøa]]||55||21||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Indre Vikna]] (inner island of [[Vikna]] archipelago)||55||21||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Hemsön]]||54||21||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[San Pietro Island]]||54||21||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Dyrøya]]||53||20||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Leros]]||53||20||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Pyhämaa]] (in [[Nystad]]/[[Uusikaupunki]])||53||20||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vessölandet]] (in [[Borgå]]/[[Porvoo]])||52||20||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Mörkön]]||52||20||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Asinara]]||51||20||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Hydra, Saronic Islands|Hydra]]||50||19||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Kornat]]||50||19||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Sanday, Orkney]]||50||19||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Ugljan]]||50||19||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Huftarøy]]||50||19||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Storøya]]||50||19||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Wahlbergøya]]||50||19||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|}

==Islands 20 km²–50 km²==
This section of the list is not complete.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!!rowspan=2|Island’s Name!!colspan=2|Area!!rowspan=2|Country
|-
! !!(km²)!!(sq mi)
|-
| [[Kirjalansaari]] (Swedish: [[Kirjalaön]]) (in [[Pargas]]/[[Parainen]])||49||19||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[La Maddalena]]||49||19||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Rousay]]||49||19||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Silda (in Loppa)]]||48||19||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Skiathos]]||48||19||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Anzersky Island]]||47||18||{{Flag|Russia}}
|-
| [[Hopen]]||47||18||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Tomma]]||47||18||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Westray]]||47||18||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Gossa (island)|Gossa]]||46.5||17.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Gimsøya]]||46||17||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Ischia]]||46||17||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Lastovo]]||46||17||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Oxkungar]]/[[Tengmo]]||46||17||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Varaldsøy]]||45.5||17||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Nøtterøy]]||43.5||17||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Agios Efstratios]]||43.2||16||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Helgøya, Troms|Helgøya]]||43||16||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Porto Santo Island]]||42.27||16.32||[[Image:Flag of Portugal.svg|20px|Portugal]] [[Portugal]]
|-
| [[Tenedos]]||42||16||[[Image:Flag of Turkey.svg|20px|Turkey]] [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[Hämön]]||42||16||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Nisyros]]||41.4||16||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Colonsay]]||41||16||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Fetlar]]||41||16||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Schiermonnikoog]]||41||16||{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| [[Sikinos]]||41||16||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Rennesøy]]||41||16||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Danskøya]]||40.6||15.7||[[Svalbard]], {{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Viðoy]]||40.4||15.6||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Psara]]||40||15.5||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Vlieland]]||40||15.5||{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|-
| [[Holy Island, Anglesey]]||39.4||15||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Hjelmsøya]]||39||15||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Härnön]]||39||15||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Anafi]]||38||15||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Lillandet]] (in [[Nagu]]/[[Nauvo]])||38||15||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Atløy]]||37.5||15||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Lipari]]||37.5||15||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Favignana]]||37||14.5||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Larsmo]]||37||14.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Pellworm]]||37||14.5||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Reksteren]]||37||14.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Stortervolandet]] (Finnish: [[Iso-Tervo]]) (in [[Pargas]]/[[Parainen]])||37||14.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Avşa]]||36||14||{{Flag|Turkey}}
|-
| [[Gotska Sandön]]||36||14||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Kaurissalo]] (in [[Gustavs]]/[[Kustavi]])||36||14||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Kimolos]]||36||14||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Laukøya]]||36||14||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Poel]]||36||14||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Vestre Bokn]] (Western [[Bokn]] Island)||36||14||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kunoy]]||35.1||13.5||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Antiparos]]||35||13||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Emäsalo]] (Swedish: [[Emsalö]])||34||13||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Handnesøya]]||34||13||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Lemlahdensaari]] (Swedish: [[Lemlaxön]])||34||13||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Patmos]]||34||13||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Sobieszewo Island]]||34||13||{{Flag|Poland}}
|-
| [[Store Molla]]||34||13||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Vätö]]||34||13||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Lumparland]]||33||12.5||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Stronsay]]||33||12.5||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Skogsøya]]||32.5||12||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Benbecula]]||32||12||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Björkö (Korsholm)]]||32||12||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Folegandros]]||32||12||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Husøy]] (in [[Solund]])||32||12||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Mellom-Vikna]] (central island of [[Vikna]] archipelago)||32||12||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Sandøy]] (in [[Gulen]])||32||12||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Borkum]]||31||12||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Fournoi]]||31||12||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Huvudlandet]] (in [[Houtskär]]/[[Houtskari]])||31||12||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Poros]])||31||12||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
| [[Vartsala]] (in [[Gustavs]]/[[Kustavi]])||31||12||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vir]]||31||12||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Inishmore]]||30.9||12||[[Image:Flag of Ireland.svg|20px|Ireland]] [[Ireland]]
|-
| [[Landegode]]||30.5||12||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kalsoy]]||30.4||11.7||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Eigg]]||30||11.5||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Lidingö]]||30||11.5||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Tiree]]||30||11.5||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Gavdos]])||29.6||11||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
| [[Straumøya]]||29.5||11||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kirkeøy]] (in [[Østfold]])||29.5||11||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Shapinsay]]||29||11||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Vårdö]]||29||11||{{Flag|Åland}} an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Tromøy]]||28.5||11||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Halki]]||28.1||11||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Bressay]]||28||11||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Čiovo]]||28||11||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Ellingsøya]]||28||11||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Luonnonmaa]]||28||11||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Sarvisalo]]||28||11||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Ytterøy]] (in [[Nord-Trøndelag]])||28||11||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Svínoy]]||27.1||10.5||[[Image:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|20px|Faroe Islands]] [[Faroe Islands]], an [[Federacy|autonomous region]] of [[Image:Flag of Denmark.svg|20px|Denmark]] [[Denmark]]
|-
| [[Eday]]||27||10||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Hayling Island]]||27||10||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Salina]]||27||10||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Fjellværøya]]||26.5||10||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Fosnøy]]||26.5||10||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Lundøya]]||26.5||10||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Valentia Island]]||26.3||10||[[Image:Flag of Ireland.svg|20px|Ireland]] [[Ireland]]
|-
| [[Foulness Island]]||26||10||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Livonsaari]]||26||10||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Norderney]]||26||10||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Olib]]||26||10||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Paxi]]||25.3||10||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Finnøy]] (in [[Rogaland]])||25||9.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kalamos]]||25||9.5||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Scalpay]]||25||9.5||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Stabblandet]]||25||9.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Imrali]]||25||9.5||{{Flag|Turkey}}
|-
| [[Lampedusa]]||25||9.5||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Raasay]]||25||9.5||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Kyra Panagia]]||25||9.5||[[Image:Flag of Greece.svg|20px|Greece]] [[Greece]]
|-
| [[Sandön]]||24.9||9.5||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Singö]]||24.8||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Torö]]||24.6||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Tjøme]]||24.5||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Portsea Island]]||24.3||9||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Ängesön]]||24.2||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Aldra]]||24||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Fågelbrolandet]]||24||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Holmön]]||24||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Österö-Västerö]] (in [[Maksamaa]])||24||9||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Rånö]]||23.9||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Giglio Island]]||23.8||9||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Gorumna Island]]||23.8||9||{{Flag|Ireland}}
|-
| [[Selbjørn]]||23.8||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Kråkerøy]]||23.6||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Utö]]||23.6||9||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Lismore]]||23.5||9||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Åmøya]] (in [[Nordland]])||23.4||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Elvalandet]]||23||9||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Anholt (Denmark)|Anholt]]||23||9||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Île d'Yeu]]||23||9||{{Flag|France}}
|-
| [[Kumlinge]] (in [[Kumlinge]], [[Åland]])||23||9||{{Flag|Åland}}, an autonomous part of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Östersocknen]] (in [[Föglö]], [[Åland]])||23||9||{{Flag|Åland}}, an autonomous part of {{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Molat]]||22.8||8.5||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Södra Muskö]]||22.5||8.5||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Tromsøya]]||22.4||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Vir]]||22.4||8.5||{{Flag|Croatia}}
|-
| [[Spetses]]||22.2||8.5||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
| [[Hulløya]]||22.1||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Fur (Danish island)]]||22||8.5||{{Flag|Denmark}}
|-
| [[Halsön]] (in [[Korsnäs]])||22||8.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Hirvensalo]] (in [[Turku]])||22||8.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Isoluoto]] (in [[Särkisalo]])||22||8.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Lurøya]]||22||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Munapirtti (island)|Munapirtti]] (in [[Pyhtää]])||22||8.5||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Nord-Fugløy]]||22||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Blidö]]||21.9||8.5||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Meløya]]||21.8||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Spildra]]||21.4||8.5||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Storön]]||21.3||8||{{Flag|Sweden}}
|-
| [[Great Bernera]]||21.2||8||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Saria]]||21.1||8||{{Flag|Greece}}
|-
| [[Bergö]] (in [[Maalahti]])||21||8||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Kakskerta]] (in [[Turku]])||21||8||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vahterpää]] (in [[Ruotsinpyhtää]]/[[Strömfors]])||21||8||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Vulcano]]||20.9||8||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Amrum]]||20.5||8||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Hidra]]||20.4||8||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Attu (Finland)]] (in [[Pargas]]/[[Parainen]])||20||8||{{Flag|Finland}}
|-
| [[Eigerøya]]||20||8||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[La Maddalena]]||20||8||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Lampedusa]]||20||8||{{Flag|Italy}}
|-
| [[Langeoog]]||20||8||{{Flag|Germany}}
|-
| [[Ulva]]||20||8||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|-
| [[Vengsøya]]||20||8||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Vigra]]||20||8||{{Flag|Norway}}
|-
| [[Whalsay]]||20||8||{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|}

==Notes==
* [[Madeira]] and the [[Canary Islands]] are not considered part of Europe, whereas [[Cyprus]] is. Cyprus is often considered to be a part of both [[Asia]] and [[Europe]].
* Islands of Arctic [[Russia]] are considered part of Europe as long as they are situated west of the [[Yamal Peninsula]]. This means that the islands of [[Franz Josef Land]], [[Novaya Zemlya]] plus for example [[Kolguyev]] and [[Vaygach]] are considered part of Europe. Islands of [[Svalbard]] are in the same category, whereas for example islands of [[Greenland]] are considered part of [[North America]].
* The figures of [[Bolshoy Berezovy]], [[Storøya]] and [[Wahlbergøya]] are rough estimates from map.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* http://islands.unep.ch/
* http://personal.inet.fi/koti/kauko.huotari/saaret.htm (also includes freshwater islands)
* http://www.intermin.fi/intermin/images.nsf/files/aaa29f826e98e26ac22572480031ab08/$file/esite_2007_eng.pdf
* http://www.ub.ntnu.no/formidl/utgivelser/til_opplysning/to_nr16.pdf

==See also==
* [[List of European islands by population]]
* [[List of islands by area]]
* [[List of islands by population]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:European islands by area}}
[[Category:Lists of islands]]
[[Category:Geography of Europe|Islands by area]]
[[Category:Islands of Europe|*]]
[[Category:Lists by area|European islands]]
[[Category:Europe-related lists|Islands]]

[[es:Anexo:Islas de Europa ordenadas por superficie]]
[[lv:Eiropas lielākās salas]]
[[no:Europas øyer]]

Benutzer:Rfzn/Matrix decomposition

2008-10-27T17:14:08Z

204.128.230.1: /* LU decomposition */

In the [[mathematics | mathematical]] discipline of [[linear algebra]], a '''matrix decomposition''' is a [[factorization]] of a [[matrix (math)|matrix]] into some [[canonical form]]. There are many different matrix decompositions; each finds use among a particular class of problems.

== Example ==

In [[numerical analysis]], different decompositions are used to implement efficient matrix [[algorithm]]s.

For instance, when solving a [[system of linear equations]] <math>Ax=b</math>, the matrix ''A'' can be decomposed via the [[LU decomposition]]. The LU decomposition factorizes a matrix into a [[lower triangular matrix]] ''L'' and an [[upper triangular matrix]] ''U''. The systems <math>L(Ux)=b</math> and <math>Ux=L^{-1}b</math> are much easier to solve than the original.

== Decompositions related to solving systems of linear equations ==
=== [[LU decomposition]] ===
*Applicable to: [[square matrix]] ''A''
*Decomposition: <math>A=LU</math>, where ''L'' is [[triangular matrix|lower triangular]] and ''U'' is [[triangular matrix|upper triangular]]
*Related: the [[LDU decomposition|''LDU'' decomposition]] is <math>A=LDU</math>, where ''L'' is [[triangular matrix|lower triangular]] with ones on the diagonal, ''U'' is [[triangular matrix|upper triangular]] with ones on the diagonal, and ''D'' is a [[diagonal matrix]].
*Related: the [[LUP decomposition|''LUP'' decomposition]] is <math>A=LUP</math>, where ''L'' is [[triangular matrix|lower triangular]], ''U'' is [[triangular matrix|upper triangular]], and ''P'' is a [[permutation matrix]].
*Existence: An LUP decomposition exists for any non-singular square matrix ''A''. When ''P'' is an [[identity matrix]], the LUP decomposition reduces to the LU decomposition. If the LU decomposition exists, the LDU decomposition does too.
*Comments: The LUP and LU decompositions are useful in solving an ''n''-by-''n'' system of linear equations <math>Ax=b</math>. These decompositions summarize the process of [[Gaussian elimination]] in matrix form. Matrix ''P'' represents any row interchanges carried out in the process of Gaussian elimination; if the system can be solved by Gaussian elimination without row interchanges, then ''P=I'', so an LU decomposition exists.

=== [[LU Reduction]] ===
=== [[Block LU decomposition]] ===
=== [[Cholesky decomposition]] ===
*Applicable to: [[square matrix|square]], [[symmetric matrix|symmetric]], [[positive definite]] matrix ''A''
*Decomposition: <math>A=U^TU</math>, where ''U'' is upper triangular with positive diagonal entries
*Comment: the Cholesky decomposition is a special case of the symmetric LU decomposition, with <math>L=U^T</math>.
*Comment: the Cholesky decomposition is unique
*Comment: the Cholesky decomposition is also applicable for complex hermitian positive definite matrices

=== [[QR decomposition]] ===
*Applicable to: ''m''-by-''n'' matrix ''A''
*Decomposition: <math>A=QR</math> where ''Q'' is an [[orthogonal matrix]] of size ''m''-by-''m'', and ''R'' is an [[triangular matrix|upper triangular]] matrix of size ''m''-by-''n''
*Comment: The QR decomposition provides an alternative way of solving the system of equations <math>Ax=b</math> without [[matrix inverse|inverting]] the matrix ''A''. The fact that ''Q'' is orthogonal means that <math>Q^TQ=I</math>, so that <math>Ax=b</math> is equivalent to <math>Rx=Q^Tb</math>, which is easier to solve since ''R'' is [[triangular matrix|triangular]].

== Decompositions based on eigenvalues and related concepts ==
=== [[Eigendecomposition (matrix)|Eigendecomposition]] ===
*Also called ''spectral decomposition''
*Applicable to: [[square matrix]] ''A''.
*Decomposition: <math>A=VDV^{-1}</math>, where ''D'' is a [[diagonal matrix]] formed from the [[eigenvalue]]s of ''A'', and the columns of ''V'' are the corresponding [[eigenvector]]s of ''A''.
*Existence: An ''n''-by-''n'' matrix ''A'' always has ''n'' eigenvalues, which can be ordered (in more than one way) to form an ''n''-by-''n'' diagonal matrix ''D'' and a corresponding matrix of nonzero columns ''V'' that satisfies the [[Eigenvalue, eigenvector and eigenspace#Definitions: the eigenvalue equation|eigenvalue equation]] <math>AV=VD</math>. If the ''n'' eigenvalues are distinct (that is, none is equal to any of the others), then ''V'' is invertible, implying the decomposition <math>A=VDV^{-1}</math>.
*Comment: The eigendecomposition is useful for understanding the solution of a system of linear ordinary differential equations or linear difference equations. For example, the difference equation <math>x_{t+1}=Ax_t</math> starting from the initial condition <math>x_0=c</math> is solved by <math>x_t = A^tc</math>, which is equivalent to <math>x_t = VD^tV^{-1}c</math>, where ''V'' and ''D'' are the matrices formed from the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of ''A''. Since ''D'' is diagonal, raising it to power <math>D^t</math>, just involves raising each element on the diagonal to the power ''t''. This is much easier to do and to understand than raising ''A'' to power ''t'', since ''A'' is usually not diagonal.

=== [[Jordan decomposition]] ===
The [[Jordan normal form]] and the [[Jordan–Chevalley decomposition]]
*Applicable to: [[square matrix]] ''A''
*Comment: the Jordan normal form generalizes the eigendecomposition to cases where there are repeated eigenvalues and cannot be diagonalized, the Jordan–Chevalley decomposition does this without choosing a basis.

=== [[Schur decomposition]] ===
*Applicable to: [[square matrix]] ''A''
*Comment: there are two versions of this decomposition: the complex Schur decomposition and the real Schur decomposition.
*Decomposition (complex version): <math>A=UTU^H</math>, where ''U'' is a [[unitary matrix]], <math>U^H</math> is the [[conjugate transpose]] of ''U'', and ''T'' is an [[upper triangular]] matrix called the complex [[Schur form]] which has the [[eigenvalue]]s of ''A'' along its diagonal.
*Decomposition (real version): <math>A=VSV^T</math>, where ''A'', ''V'', ''S'' and <math>V^T</math> are matrices that contain real numbers only. In this case, ''V'' is an [[orthogonal matrix]], <math>V^T</math> is the [[matrix transpose|transpose]] of ''V'', and ''S'' is a [[block matrix|block upper triangular]] matrix called the real [[Schur form]]. The blocks on the diagonal of ''S'' are of size 1×1 (in which case they represent real eigenvalues) or 2×2 (in which case they are derived from [[complex conjugate]] eigenvalue pairs).

=== [[QZ decomposition]] ===
*Also called: ''generalized Schur decomposition''
*Applicable to: [[square matrix|square matrices]] ''A'' and ''B''
*Comment: there are two versions of this decomposition: complex and real.
*Decomposition (complex version): <math>A=QSZ^H</math> and <math>B=QTZ^H</math> where ''Q'' and ''Z'' are [[unitary matrix|unitary matrices]], the ''H'' superscript represents [[conjugate transpose]], and ''S'' and ''T'' are [[upper triangular]] matrices.
*Comment: in the complex QZ decomposition, the ratios of the diagonal elements of ''S'' to the corresponding diagonal elements of ''T'', <math>\lambda_i = S_{ii}/T_{ii}</math>, are the generalized [[eigenvalue]]s that solve the [[Eigendecomposition of a matrix#Additional topics|generalized eigenvalue problem]] <math>Av=\lambda Bv</math> (where <math>\lambda</math> is an unknown scalar and ''v'' is an unknown nonzero vector).
*Decomposition (real version): <math>A=QSZ^T</math> and <math>B=QTZ^T</math> where ''A'', ''B'', ''Q'', ''Z'', ''S'', and ''T'' are matrices containing real numbers only. In this case ''Q'' and ''Z'' are [[orthogonal matrix|orthogonal matrices]], the ''T'' superscript represents [[matrix transpose|transposition]], and ''S'' and ''T'' are [[block matrix|block upper triangular]] matrices. The blocks on the diagonal of ''S'' and ''T'' are of size 1×1 or 2×2.

=== [[Singular value decomposition]] ===
*Applicable to: ''m''-by-''n'' matrix ''A''.
*Decomposition: <math>A=UDV^H</math>, where ''D'' is a nonnegative [[diagonal matrix]], and ''U'' and ''V'' are [[unitary matrix|unitary matrices]], and <math>V^H</math> denotes the [[conjugate transpose]] of ''V'' (or simply the [[matrix transpose|transpose]], if ''V'' contains real numbers only).
*Comment: The diagonal elements of ''D'' are called the [[singular value]]s of ''A''.
*Comment: like the eigendecomposition, the singular value decomposition involves finding basis directions along which matrix multiplication is equivalent to scalar multiplication, but it has greater generality since the matrix under consideration need not be square.

=== Takagi's factorization ===
*Applicable to: square, complex, symmetric matrix ''A''.
*Decomposition: <math>A=VDV^T</math>, where ''D'' is a real nonnegative [[diagonal matrix]], and ''V'' is [[unitary matrix|unitary]]. <math>V^T</math> denotes the [[matrix transpose]] of ''V''.
*Comment: the diagonal elements of ''D'' are the nonnegative square roots of the eigenvalues of <math>AA^H</math>.
*Comment: ''V'' may be complex even if ''A'' is real.

== Other decompositions ==
* [[Polar decomposition]]
* [[Proper orthogonal decomposition]]

== See also ==

* [[Canonical form]]

{{linear algebra}}

[[Category:Matrix theory]]
[[Category:Mathematical terminology]]

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