The Lost 116 Pages

A Crisis in the Translation

The story of the lost 116 pages is one of the most revealing episodes in the early history of the Book of Mormon's production. In the summer of 1828, the first portion of the translation—116 manuscript pages covering the Book of Lehi—disappeared. The circumstances surrounding this loss, and Joseph Smith's response to it, provide important evidence for evaluating his prophetic claims.

For Latter-day Saints, this episode demonstrates God's foreknowledge and Smith's genuine prophetic calling. For critics, it reveals a calculated response to a potentially exposing situation. Examining the evidence allows us to evaluate these competing interpretations.

Martin Harris and the Early Translation

The First Scribe

Martin Harris was a prosperous farmer in Palmyra, New York, about twenty years older than Joseph Smith. He became one of Smith's earliest supporters and financial backers, eventually mortgaging his farm to finance the publication of the Book of Mormon. He served as Smith's primary scribe during the earliest phase of translation.

Harris was a religious seeker who had explored various denominations and was known for unusual spiritual beliefs. He reportedly told people he had seen Jesus in the form of a deer and had conversed with the devil. His wife Lucy was deeply skeptical of Smith's claims and opposed her husband's involvement.

From April to June 1828, Harris served as scribe while Smith dictated. The resulting manuscript—116 pages covering what was called the Book of Lehi—represented the first substantial portion of the Book of Mormon translation.

The Request to Take the Manuscript

Martin Harris faced intense pressure from his wife Lucy, who suspected Smith was deceiving her husband and squandering their money. To satisfy her—and perhaps to reassure himself—Harris repeatedly asked Smith for permission to take the 116-page manuscript home to show his wife.

According to LDS accounts, Smith inquired of the Lord and was told no. Harris persisted. Smith asked again; again the answer was no. Harris begged once more. Finally, Smith inquired a third time and received permission—with strict conditions that Harris show the manuscript only to specific family members.

This pattern—God initially refusing, then relenting after persistent requests—would appear again in Mormon history (most notably with polygamy). It raises questions: Does God change his mind under pressure? Or does the pattern reflect human decision-making attributed to divine revelation?

The Disappearance

What Happened

Martin Harris took the manuscript home in June 1828. Joseph Smith, meanwhile, traveled to Harmony, Pennsylvania, where his wife Emma gave birth to their first child, Alvin, who died the same day. Emma nearly died as well. Smith was consumed with worry—both for his wife and for the manuscript.

When Harris failed to return or send word, Smith traveled to Palmyra to investigate. He found Harris in a state of distress: the manuscript was gone. Despite extensive searching, it was never found. Harris had violated the conditions by showing it to people beyond those specified, and somewhere in that process, it vanished.

The most likely explanation, never proven, is that Lucy Harris took and destroyed (or hid) the manuscript to prevent her husband from further involvement with Smith. She had motive, means, and opportunity. Whether she intended to destroy it or to produce it later to expose changes in a re-translation remains unknown.

Smith's Response

Joseph Smith was reportedly devastated. According to his mother's account, he groaned and said, "All is lost! All is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned—it is I who tempted the wrath of God. I should have been satisfied with the first answer which I received from the Lord."

The angel Moroni appeared and took back the plates and the Urim and Thummim as punishment for Smith's carelessness. For a season, Smith was without the instruments of translation. Eventually they were returned, but Smith was commanded not to re-translate the lost portion.

The Official Explanation

The Revelation

The explanation for not re-translating the Book of Lehi is found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 10 (and the preface to the Book of Mormon). According to this revelation, "wicked men" had stolen the manuscript with a nefarious plan: they would wait for Smith to re-translate the same material, then alter the stolen manuscript and produce it to show discrepancies. This would "prove" that Smith was a fraud who couldn't produce the same translation twice.

The revelation states: "Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction... Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words which have gone forth out of your hands; for, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words."

Instead, God had prepared a solution in advance. The Book of Mormon plates contained two overlapping records: the large plates of Nephi (a political and military history, from which the Book of Lehi came) and the small plates of Nephi (a religious record covering the same time period). Smith would simply translate the small plates instead, which covered the same events but with a different emphasis.

The Convenient Solution

For believers, this represents remarkable divine foresight. God knew, centuries in advance, that the manuscript would be lost and that enemies would plan to alter it. So he inspired the ancient author Mormon to include the small plates alongside the large plates, even though Mormon wasn't sure why he felt prompted to do so (see Words of Mormon 1:3-7).

For skeptics, the explanation is too convenient. Instead of demonstrating authenticity through identical re-translation, Smith produced what he claimed was a different ancient record covering the same events. This solution perfectly accounts for why a re-translation might differ—because it's not a re-translation at all, but supposedly a translation of different plates.

Problems with the Explanation

Why Would Alteration Work?

The stated reason for not re-translating is that enemies would alter the stolen manuscript and use discrepancies to discredit Smith. But consider: if Smith re-translated the exact same text and the enemy produced an altered document, whose credibility would suffer? The alteration would be in the enemy's document, not Smith's new translation.

Smith would have two witnesses—Martin Harris and whoever served as the new scribe—who could testify that both translations were identical. The enemy's document would be the odd one out. If anything, this would strengthen Smith's claims by demonstrating that he could produce identical translations.

The concern only makes sense if Smith could not produce an identical translation—if a re-translation would differ from the original, giving enemies legitimate grounds for accusation. The revelation's logic inadvertently suggests this was the real problem.

What the Original Manuscript Contained

We don't know exactly what was in the 116 pages, but we can make informed guesses. The Book of Lehi apparently covered the same time period as 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi—Lehi's family leaving Jerusalem, traveling to the promised land, and their early years in the Americas. The current 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi (from the "small plates") cover these events from a different perspective.

This means the same basic narrative had to be told twice, in ways that couldn't directly contradict each other despite being supposedly written by different authors for different purposes. The small plates conveniently focus on spiritual matters, allowing Smith to avoid detailed repetition of events that might not match the lost manuscript if it ever surfaced.

Martin Harris's Later Testimony

The Complexity of Witness

Martin Harris is one of the Three Witnesses whose testimony appears in every copy of the Book of Mormon. He testified that an angel showed him the golden plates and that a divine voice declared the translation correct. He never recanted this testimony, even after leaving the LDS church for decades.

However, Harris's testimony is more complicated than the official version suggests. In various interviews, he made statements that qualify the nature of his experience. He reportedly told several people that he saw the plates with his "spiritual eye" rather than his natural eyes—"just as distinctly as I see anything around me—though at the time they were covered with a cloth."

When asked directly if he saw the plates with his bodily eyes, Harris reportedly responded, "I did not see them as I do that pencil-case, yet I saw them with the eye of faith; I saw them just as distinctly as I see anything around me, though at the time they were covered over with a cloth."

What This Means

Harris's statements suggest his experience was visionary rather than physical—he "saw" the plates in the same sense that people "see" things in dreams or visions. This doesn't mean he was lying; he may have had a genuine subjective experience. But it does mean his testimony doesn't prove the physical existence of ancient golden plates.

Harris's spiritual instability is also relevant. He joined and left multiple religious movements throughout his life, testifying to various supernatural experiences. After leaving the LDS church, he affiliated with James Strang (another Mormon faction leader) and later with the Shakers. His willingness to testify to spiritual experiences was not unique to Mormonism.

Implications for Evaluation

A Test That Wasn't Taken

The lost 116 pages episode offered a perfect opportunity to verify the Book of Mormon's authenticity. If Smith was truly translating ancient plates through divine power, he could have re-translated the Book of Lehi and produced an identical (or nearly identical) text. This would have powerfully demonstrated that the translation was real.

Instead, Smith declined the test, citing a threat that never materialized. He produced what he claimed was a different ancient document covering the same events. This solution avoided the verification problem entirely—and conveniently so.

Ask yourself: If you were translating a real document and part of your translation was lost, what would you do? You would re-translate it. The reluctance to do so suggests something other than ordinary translation was occurring.

The Pattern of Convenient Revelation

Throughout his career, Joseph Smith received revelations that conveniently addressed problems he faced. Lost manuscript? Revelation explains why it can't be re-translated. Wife opposes polygamy? Revelation threatens her with destruction. Need money for various projects? Revelations command specific people to donate. Want something that isn't otherwise permitted? Keep asking until God relents.

Any one of these could be explained innocently. The pattern, however, suggests that "revelation" functioned as a tool for managing situations rather than communicating timeless truth. The lost 116 pages episode fits this pattern perfectly.

Testing the Prophet

The lost 116 pages incident provides a case study in evaluating prophetic claims. Joseph Smith faced a situation that could have verified or falsified his claims: could he re-translate the lost portion and produce identical results? He declined the test, citing a revelation that conveniently made re-translation impossible.

This doesn't definitively prove Smith was a fraud—perhaps God really did foresee the loss and prepare an alternative. But it should give pause. A genuine translation of actual plates could be re-done. The refusal to re-translate suggests something else was happening.

When discussing this episode with Mormon friends, gentleness is essential. Many have never heard these details or considered their implications. The goal is not to "win" but to raise honest questions that prompt genuine reflection. The lost 116 pages raise exactly such questions for those willing to consider them.