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Mormonism and Wikipedia/Golden plates/Composition and weight
An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Described composition and weight
| Described format, binding, and dimensions | A FAIR Analysis of: Wikipedia article "Golden plates", a work by author: Various
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An analysis of claims made in the Wikipedia article "Golden plates" - Described composition and weight
Updated 9/21/2011
Section review
Described composition and weight
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
The plates were first described as "gold", and beginning about 1827, the plates were widely called the "gold bible".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
When the Book of Mormon was published in 1830, the Eight Witnesses described the plates as having "the appearance of gold".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
The Book of Mormon describes the plates as being made of "ore".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people.
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
Joseph Smith, Jr.'s first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold"Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
But Smith said that Moroni had referred to the plates as "gold." Late in life, Martin Harris stated that the rings holding the plates together were made of silver,Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
and he said the plates themselves, based on their heft of "forty or fifty pounds" (18–23 kg),Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
"were lead or gold".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
Violated by COgden —Diff: off-site
The wiki editor leads the reader to believe the Martin Harris concluded that the plates were either "lead or gold." Harris goes on, however, to state that he knew that Joseph didn't have the means to purchase lead. This is left out of the wiki article, thus altering the meaning of the source being cited. The plates were covered when Martin lifted them, so he could not comment on their appearance at that time—only their weight. - The cited source states:
While at Mr. Smith's I hefted the plates, and I knew from the heft that they were lead or gold, and I knew that Joseph had not credit enough to buy so much lead.
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
Joseph's brother 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".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- From the cited source:
One could easily tell that they were not a stone, hewn out to deceive, or even a block of wood. Being a mixture of gold and copper, they were much heavier than stone, and very much heavier than wood.
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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.Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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).Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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]".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Correct, per cited sources
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
Joseph Smith's wife 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".Author's sources:
FAIR's Response
- Violates Wikipedia: Citing sources off-site— There is either no citation to support the statement or the citation given is incorrect.
Violated by COgden —Diff: off-site
The wiki editor states that Emma "said they were light enough" immediately after stating that she never estimated the weight. The cited source supports the first phrase, but not the second. Emma never said that the plates were "light" at all—she simply stated that she moved them. - From the cited source:
I moved them from place to place on the table, as it was necessary in doing my work.
}}
The author(s) of Wikipedia article "Golden plates" make(s) the following claim:
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).Author's sources:
- Vogel (2004) .
FAIR's Response
References
| Wikipedia references for "Golden Plates" |
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- Howe, Eber Dudley, (1834), Mormonism Unvailed Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press off-site .
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- Poulson, P. Wilhelm, Letter to the editor. .
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- Pratt, Orson, (1877), King Limhi's Enquiry, from the Book of Mormon' off-site .
- Putnam, Read H., Were the Golden Plates Made of Tumbaga? off-site .
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- Riley, I. Woodbridge, (1903), The Founder of Mormonism: A Psychological Study of Joseph Smith, Jr. , New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. off-site
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Further reading
Mormonism and Wikipedia
FairMormon's approach to Wikipedia articles
FairMormon regularly receives queries about specific LDS-themed Wikipedia articles with requests that we somehow "fix" them. Although some individual members of FAIR may choose to edit Wikipedia articles, FairMormon as an organization does not. Controversial Wikipedia articles require constant maintenance and a significant amount of time. We prefer instead to respond to claims in the FAIR Wiki rather than fight the ongoing battle that LDS Wikipedia articles sometimes invite. From FAIR’s perspective, assertions made in LDS-themed Wikipedia articles are therefore treated just like any other critical (or, if one prefers, "anti-Mormon") work. As those articles are revised and updated, we will periodically update our reviews to match.
Who can edit Wikipedia articles?
Editors who wish to participate in editing LDS-themed Wikipedia articles can access the project page here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Latter Day Saint movement. You are not required to be LDS in order to participate—there are a number of good non-LDS editors who have made valuable contributions to these articles.
Recommendations when editing Wikipedia articles
FAIR does not advocate removing any references from Wikipedia articles. The best approach to editing Wikipedia is to locate solid references to back up your position and add them rather than attempting to remove information. Individuals who intend to edit should be aware that posting information related to the real-world identities of Wikipedia editors will result in their being banned from editing Wikipedia. Attacking editors and attempting to "out" them on Wikipedia is considered very bad form. The best approach is to treat all Wikipedia editors, whether or not you agree or disagree with their approach, with respect and civility. An argumentative approach is not constructive to achieving a positive result, and will simply result in what is called an "edit war." Unfortunately, not all Wikipedia editors exhibit good faith toward other editors (see, for example, the comment above from "Duke53" or comments within these reviews made by John Foxe's sockpuppet "Hi540," both of whom repeatedly mocked LDS beliefs and LDS editors prior to their being banned.)
Do LDS editors control Wikipedia?
Although there exist editors on Wikipedia who openly declare their affiliation with the Church, they do not control Wikipedia. Ironically, some critics of the Church periodically falsely accuse Wikipedia editors of being LDS simply because they do not accept the critics' desired spin on a particular article.
Do "anti-Mormons" control Wikipedia?
Again, the answer is no. The truth is that Wikipedia is generally self-policing. Highly contentious articles do tend to draw the most passionate supporters and critics.
Why do certain LDS articles seem to be so negative?
Although some LDS-related Wikipedia articles may appear to have a negative tone, they are in reality quite a bit more balanced than certain critical works such as One Nation Under Gods. Although many critical editors often accuse LDS-related Wikipedia articles of being "faith promoting" or claim that they are just an extension of the Sunday School manual, this is rarely the case. Few, if any, Latter-day Saints would find Wikipedia articles to be "faith promoting." Generally, the believers think that the articles are too negative and the critics believe that the articles are too positive. LDS Wikipedia articles should be informative without being overtly faith promoting. However, most of the primary sources, including the words of Joseph Smith himself, are "faith promoting." This presents a dilemma for Wikipedia editors who want to remain neutral. The unfortunate consequence is that Joseph's words are rewritten and intermixed with contradictory sources, resulting in boring and confusing prose.
We examine selected Wikipedia articles and examine them on a "claim-by-claim" basis, with links to responses in the FairMormon Answers Wiki. Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving. As a result, the analysis of each article will be updated periodically in order to bring it more into line with the current version of the article. The latest revision date may be viewed at the top of each individual section. The process by which Wikipedia articles are reviewed is the following:
- Update each Wikipedia passage and its associated footnotes.
- Examine the use of sources and determine whether or not the passage accurately represents the source used.
- Provide links to response articles within the FairMormon Answers Wiki.
- If violation of Wikipedia rules is discovered, identify which Wikipedia editor (by pseudonym) made the edit, provide a description of the rule violated and a link to the Wikipedia "diff" showing the actual edit.
- If a violated rule is later corrected in a subsequent revision, the violation is removed and a notation is added that the passage is correct per cited sources. This doesn't mean that FAIR necessarily agrees with the passage—only that it is correct based upon the source used.
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, "Mormonism and Wikipedia: The Church History That “Anyone Can Edit”"
Roger Nicholson, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, (2012)The ability to quickly and easily access literature critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been made significantly easier through the advent of the Internet. One of the primary sites that dominates search engine results is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that “anyone can edit.” Wikipedia contains a large number of articles related to Mormonism that are edited by believers, critics, and neutral parties. The reliability of information regarding the Church and its history is subject to the biases of the editors who choose to modify those articles. Even if a wiki article is thoroughly sourced, editors sometimes employ source material in a manner that supports their bias. This essay explores the dynamics behind the creation of Wikipedia articles about the Church, the role that believers and critics play in that process, and the reliability of the information produced in the resulting wiki articles.
Click here to view the complete article
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