<P> Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold". They were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, as "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires ." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates "reformed Egyptian". A portion of the text on the plates was also "sealed" according to his account, so its content was not included in the Book of Mormon . </P> <P> In addition to Smith's account regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they saw the golden plates and, in some cases, handled them . Their written testimonies are known as the Testimony of Three Witnesses and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses . These statements have been published in most editions of the Book of Mormon . </P> <P> Smith enlisted his neighbor Martin Harris as a scribe during his initial work on the text . (Harris later mortgaged his farm to underwrite the printing of the Book of Mormon .) In 1828, Harris, prompted by his wife Lucy Harris, repeatedly requested that Smith lend him the current pages that had been translated . Smith reluctantly acceded to Harris's requests . Lucy Harris is thought to have stolen the first 116 pages . After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate, and that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith repented. Smith later stated that God allowed him to resume translation, but directed that he begin translating another part of the plates (in what is now called the Book of Mosiah). In 1829, work resumed on the Book of Mormon, with the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, and was completed in a short period (April--June 1829). Smith said that he then returned the plates to Moroni upon the publication of the book . The Book of Mormon went on sale at the bookstore of E.B. Grandin in Palmyra, New York on March 26, 1830 . Today, the building in which the Book of Mormon was first published and sold is known as the Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site . </P> <P> Since its first publication and distribution, critics of the Book of Mormon have claimed that it was fabricated by Smith and that he drew material and ideas from various sources rather than translating an ancient record . Works that have been suggested as sources include the King James Bible, The Wonders of Nature, View of the Hebrews, and an unpublished manuscript written by Solomon Spalding . FairMormon maintains that all of these theories have been disproved and discredited, arguing that both Mormon and non-Mormon historians have found serious flaws in their research The position of most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement and the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints (LDS Church) is that the book is an accurate historical record . </P>

Who helped joseph smith translate the book of mormon
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