Dr. Kathy's Couch, the Reprise: Metal Plates and Stone Boxes

When Joseph Smith first claimed to have been given a record written on plates of gold, the reaction was one of three: 1) the person believed him and tried to steal the plates for the gold; 2) the person believed him and became a follower; 3) the person didn't believe him and said that ancient people didn't write on metal plates. After all, the Bible was written on scrolls of parchment or papyrus.

Then, in March of 1952, a scroll made of copper was found in cave 3 at Qumran (see photo at left.) Part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it contained a list of places where the members of the Essene community had hidden their stores of precious things.

Since that time, hundreds of metal plates have been found all over the world. Two, one gold and one silver, were found in a cornerstone during the reign of King Darius of Persia. [1] The one at the right was found in a cave in Sanpete County, UT, not far from the site of the Manti temple. You can see by the man's hand that the plate is very small, but there are dozens of characters engraved on its surface. Apparently, there are many archaeological sites in the United States that contain similar artifacts.

The stone box with metal plates inside, pictured at the left, is from the collection of John Heinerman, author of the book Spiritual Wisdom of the Native Americans, which was published in 1989. He has a collection of boxes and plates and other artifacts that have been found throughout the southwestern United States. I haven't personally read the book, but the pictures are intriguing.