Joseph Smith History 1:51
Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.
The Angel Moroni had already appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith four times prior to Joseph reaching the hill of Cumorah on the 22nd of September 1823. Moroni had appeared to Joseph three times the night before in his bedroom, and then once more at the fence when the Angel told the 17 year-old to related his experiences to his father before Joseph was to come to the hill that day. In each of the four visits the Angel repeated the message over again, adding more at the end of each new visit. Joseph has never related all that the Angel said to him. As Joseph states, "He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here." (JSH 1:41) What we do know is in the scriptures and the various histories that have been written. Joseph told his family members and others he trusted many things. Often what we have is related in such manner though never written by the hand of the prophet. Lucy Mack Smith states that Joseph would tell them various things about the Book of Mormon and its people from what he had and would learn through his visits with the Angel Moroni and others. Many of these details are lost to us as a very 'sacred trust' was being kept by the prophets family from the first, and much was kept as being too sacred to so divulge or take liberty to discuss.
It was during the fifth visit with Moroni in less than that first 24 hours that the Angel communicated to Joseph the name and historical circumstance surrounding the hill on which they had met. The Angel had come three times in the bedroom the night before onf September 21st and once at the fence on the 22nd and now for the firth time at the hill where the record was hide. According to 'The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet' by George Q. Cannon, it was upon the hill that the Angel Moroni told Joseph Smith for the first time that the name hill upon which they where was Cumorah called such by the Nephites.
"Many precious truths the angel now imparted to him: telling him that he,
Moroni, while yet living, had hidden up the plates in the hill, four
centuries after Christ, to await their coming forth in the destined hour of
God's mercy to man; that he, Moroni, was the son of Mormon, a prophet of the
ancient Nephites, who had once dwelt on this land;
that to the Nephites this sacred hill was known as Cumorah, and to
the Jaredites (who had still more anciently inhabited this continent) as Ramah; and much more did he impart to Joseph concerning the mysteries of the past, and the future purposes of Almighty God in the redemption of fallen mankind. "
(George Q. Cannon, The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1986], 39.)
(George Q. Cannon, The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet [Second Edition: The Desert News, 1907], 17.)
Joseph was under charge not to reveal the hiding place of the plates. Just when he first even dared to mention the hill's name to anyone is not known. He certainly did not reveal the location of the hill and where the plates lay hide until the time that the plates could no longer be found. His brief description in the Pearl of Great Price was not given until after all had been accomplished. And even then he did not provide the written name of the hill. Yet at some point, in speaking of the plates and the people who had lived upon these America's anciently, by the family fireplace Joseph had began to refer to the hill as that of Cumorah. This is evident by a quote from the 'History of Joseph Smith' by his mother Lucy Mack Smith. It is in his mother's book as Lucy Mack Smith quotes from the mouth of his son Joseph during 1827 that is becomes evident that the family was by that date familiar with the name of the hill being Cumorah. Joseph states it in passing as he tells of being reprimanded by the Angel Moroni near the 'hill of Cumorah.' Joseph's father thought that Joseph had been referring to more local citizen persecution when Joseph replied,
"Stop, father, stop," said Joseph, "it was the angel of the Lord.
As I passed by the hill of Cumorah>, where
the plates are, the angel met me and said that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord; that the time had come for the record to be brought forth; and that I must be up and doing and set myself about the things which God had commanded me to do. But, father, give yourself no uneasiness concerning the reprimand which I have received, for I now know the course that I am to pursue, so all will be well."
(History Of Joseph Smith By His Mother Lucy Mack Smith, p. 100)
Joseph had mentioned the name in passes with understood familiarity of the listeners. Joseph's family members who were present would know what 'hill of Cumorah' he spoke of, as they would have heard him speak of it a number of times previous to this recorded incident. It had been important not to generally share with the world the location of the plates, but with his family, Joseph had already shared the stories, which that Angel and other visitors had communicated to him concerning the 'hill of Cumorah.' And, though the name Cumorah would become spoken more often, and understood by a number as to its location, it will be shown hereafter that there was 'confidence attitude' which surrounded much of the information concerning the hill of Cumorah for reasons even after the plates had been returned to Moroni and the Book of Mormon was published extending even as late as 1877 and beyond.
From 1823 to 1827, Joseph would visit at least once each year the hill of Cumorah site where the plates lay hidden. During these visits the Angel Moroni would continue to give Joseph information and instructions. And, as indicated by his mother's history, there where even other occasions upon which the Angel did visit and speak with Joseph. And not only did the Angel Moron visit, but Joseph was visited by other messengers such as Nephi, Alma, Mormon and others (See Church History text of Religion 341 page 41). With such an extensive schooling of divine messengers, it is hard to understand why some suppose that Joseph Smith did not know many things concerning the lands and the inhabitants of these ancient Americas.
The next reference to the name of Cumorah that we have in Church History is taken from David Whitmer. The occasion was during the time of the translation of the Book of Mormon in May and June of 1829. While living in Harmony, PA., Joseph and Oliver had received the priesthood and where baptized. Public sentiment was building against the translation process as the community became more and more incited against what Joseph and Oliver where about. The Prophet's father-in-law, though not converted to the goings on, was helpful in keeping the peace. Yet Joseph was becoming more and more uneasy. Joseph had Oliver request that David Whitmer come and take he and Oliver to the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. so they could finish the translation unmolested. Joseph also arranged for the Angel Moroni to be the carrier of the plates from Harmony back to the regions of Cumorah where Peter Whitmer lived. It is a portion of David Whitmer's account of that journey from Harmony to the home of Peter Whitmer which yields the next recorded incounter with the name of Cumorah in the spring of 1829.
"Replying to the question, "Did you notice his appearance?" David Whitmer replied: "I should think I did. He was, I should think, about five feet eight or nine inches tall and heavy set, about such a man as James Cleve there (a gentleman present at the Whitmer, Pratt and Smith interview), but heavier. His face was as large; he was dressed in a suit of brown woolen clothes, his hair and beard were white, like Brother Pratt's, but his beard was not so heavy. I also remember that he had on his back a sort of knapsack with something in it shaped like a book. It was the messenger who had the plates, who had taken them from Joseph just prior to our starting from Harmony."
"Soon after the arrival at the Whitmer residence, in the garden near by, Moroni
once more delivered the sacred record to Joseph, and the work of translation was
renewed with even greater vigor than at Harmony; for when Oliver would tire of
writing, one of the Whitmers or Emma Smith would relieve him."
('New Witness For God,' Volume 2 by B. H. Roberts, beginning at page 123
Though David Whitmer did not know at the time of the actual event that the traveler was the Angel Moroni, he did understand that from information he would later obtain and understand of the matter. David Whitmer is one of the three witnesses who would later be a special witness of the plates, having them and such other artifacts shown to himself. Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in the prescence of each other and by this same angel Moroni. Whether Oliver Cowdery knew the angel at this point or not can only be assumed and he likely was in the dark on the matter as much as David was. Only Joseph would have recognized the traveler as Moroni. Here, Moroni clearly states in the presence of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer that he was traveling to the land of Cumorah. One might ask, where was the angel's glory that David and Oliver only saw a common traveler? One might as well ask why would Abraham's wife laugh upon the statement of the three angels that sat and ate with Abraham when they stated that Abraham's wife would have a child? And when the angels visited Lot in the wicked city, where was their glory that man might recognize them then? It does appear from Bible scripture that angels may appear as common men and that they do not always appear as 'Angels of Light.'
Before leaving the ocassion of Joseph coming to the Whitmer's home and there continuing to translate the Book of Mormon, one more instance ought to be related. Mary Whitmer, the wife of Peter Whitmer, also had a special experience. It would seem that the angel remained near at hand, perhaps to often protect the plates in such times as need be. While doing her daily chores one day, that same 'stranger' with that same bundle approached Mary Whitmer and told her she could unwrap it and thence she was given the privlege of seeing the golden plates for herself. And in doing so she not only acted as an additional witness to the plates but also to the event just accounted which had occurred upon the road involving this same messenger, Moroni.Though not revealed until 1877 by the Prophet Brigham Young, the next event which occurs which set forth Cumorah in New York as being the very Cumorah of the Book of Mormon happens at the close of the translation of the Book of Mormon. And this becomes the 'security issue' in relation to why Cumorah was not well published by the Church and by Joseph Smith in early church history. Joseph Smith had been committed to secrecy as to where the hiding place of the plates where. Joseph kept that trust. It was not a well published matter of knowledge where the plates where hidden and that the name of the hill was Cumorah. And what happened in mid 1829, when the plates where returned to the Angel Moroni made it a matter of continued 'security.' Joseph Smith does not give the details of returning the plates to Moroni. It is merely stated that the plates where returned to the Angel's care. If Joseph had stated that he returned them to the hill of Cumorah, certainly a public who had pursued after the 'golden plates' during their translation would have continued to so pursue them in the hill of Cumorah is Joseph would have stated that he returned them to the hill where he had found them.
The enemies of the Church had forced the Church's removal from New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. They murdered the Prophet and his brother. They would have no respect for the things of God, and their only interest in the 'golden plates' was in the value of the gold. If such enemies would ever catch wind that great treasures lay hidden in that large hill where Joseph was said to have first found the plates, what havoc would then arise. Even when the full truth of Cumorah was again confirmed by President Brigham Young in 1877, it was looked upon as a 'secret being divulged.' When he 'revealed' the information to us, Brigham Young himself made the following statements about it and gives his justification for communicating this information of a 'confidence' nature. "I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be." , , , "Now, you may think I am unwise in publicly telling these things, thinking perhaps I should preserve them in my own breast . . ." , , , "I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost."
So what was it that President Brigham Young did not want 'forgotten' and 'lost' which prompted him, two months before his death, to reveal to the saints which had been kept in the confidence of but a few until that time? Well, Brigham was just going to reveal the exact particulars of the returning of the golden plates to Moroni's care.
"I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country. I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: "This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ." I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what is said, but remembering some things. So is it with other circumstances in life. I relate this to you, and I want you to understand it. I take this liberty of referring to those things so that they will not be forgotten and lost. Carlos Smith was a young man of as much veracity as any young man we had, and he was a witness to these things. Samuel Smith saw some things, Hyrum saw a good many things, but Joseph was the leader."
(J.D.19: talk begins on page 36)
Now the 'security' of Cumorah should now be more understood. In 1829, the Prophet Joseph Smith, or any trusted individual who was under divine obligation was not going to go around telling the details of Cumorah to the general public. Yes indeed, Cumorah was identical to that hill of Cumorah reverenced in the pages of the Book of Mormon where the Prophet Mormon himself had hide all of the records of the Nephites until the day when the Lord would see fit to bring them forth to the world. Ironically enough, though in a slightly different vane, the Prophet Brigham Young in that very same discourse in 1877 stated that all that was hid in the earth was protected by God and his angels. And that it would only be by the power of God that any such hidden treasure would be had and found from the earth. Brigham Young revealed in 1877 an event that had occurred in 1829. It was not to be revealed prior, especially in the years of such Mormon persecutions as surrounded the earliest years of the Church. But as Brigham Young points out 'others' beside himself 'were familiar with it.' And he alludes to Don Carlos Smith, Samuel Smith, and of course Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. But it was 'trusted information,' information that was of a secure nature, information that was not to be spoken publicly before its proper time. But neither was it to be 'forgotten or lost' to the Church. Thus, before his death in 1877, President Young took liberty to share that information with the Church. The Church would come to own the Hill Cumorah. Is there any wonder why we would want to own it?
The next recorded instance in history that we have of the name of Cumorah being referenced occurs in 1830 in conjunction with the seeking for financing of the cost of publishing the Book of Mormon. Martin Harris would be its source but the record is that of a non-Mormon. Martin was having to take a loan against his farm in order to raise money to aid in the publishing of the Book of Mormon. At one point Martin had gone to a financier named Charles Butler. It is from Charles Butler's account of his interview with Martin that we obtain the information that Martin Harris well understood many details concerning the hill of Cumorah prior to when the Book of Mormoan was even in print. Charles Butler had asked Martin for an explanation concerning why a farmer was needing money to print and publish a book.
"It was that Bible which was written on golden plates by Jacob the brother
of Nephi, Enos the son of Jacob, Jarom the son of Enos, Omni the son of Jarom,
Mormon the son of Omni, and Moroni the son of Mormon. In the years 384 A. D.,
said Mr. Harris, after the great battle on the hill
Cumorah, in what is now western New York , Moroni, one of the few
survivors, became a wanderer; and in A. D. 420 he sealed up the golden plates
on which the records of God's promises were written and hid them in the
hill. There they had lain until a little while before, when
divine inspiration had come to Joseph Smith, a young
man living in Palmyra, directing him to go to a certain hill in the town of
Manchester, this same ancient hill of Cumorah, just south of Palmyra,
and there to dig in the earth until he came to these plates, the books of the
Bible of Mormon, the son of Omni. Joseph Smith had gone, said Mr. Harris, and there he found the golden plates, thin tablets about eight inches long by seven wide, bound together by three rings, engraved on each side in hieroglyphics in a dialect of ancient Egyptian, not then known upon the earth. With these plates the angel of the Lord had helped Joseph Smith to find also the Urim and Thummim, the two transparent stones in silver bows, through which Smith, the inspired prophet, could read and interpret the writings. This was the book that Martin Harris wished to publish, the famous Mormon Bible, documentary basis of a religion noted in later days, and still of importance in at least one western state."
(An Impression of MARTIN HARRIS, 'FROM THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES BUTLER' By FRANCIS HOVEY STODDARD ~ An Impression of Martin Harris, Improvement Era, 1940, Vol. Xliii. November, 1940. No. 11.)
While Mr. Butler's or perhaps even Martin Harris' genealogy of the writers of the Book of Mormon is not precise—remember Martin Harris was Joseph's scribe for only that portion which was lost, and perhaps did not understand the genealogy fully—, there is evidence here to show that Martin understood that the Hill of Cumorah in New York was the very Hill of Cumorah of the Book of Mormon. Martin could only have obtained that information from Joseph Smith, the golden plates and his visitation of the angel Moroni. That this was 'common' knowledge and commonly understood by Martin Harris in March of 1830, before the publication of the Book of Mormon, is retained in this non-Mormon's account of what Martin had related to himself concerning the Book of Mormon in attempting to have it financed.
Now those that quibble that somehow 'Cumorah' being in New York was a contrivance of later interpolated understanding assembled by those who assumed the hill Cumorah in the Book of Mormon where Mormon hid all of the records was that same hill where Moroni hid only the golden plates, now have a problem. How could such be 'contrived' prior to when the Book of Mormon was even published? Certainly Martin Harris, David Whitmer, and Lucy Mack Smith did not read Mormon chapter 6 before the book was even translated and published to the public. They could have only heard the name Cumorah and how it related to the hill in New York from either Joseph Smith or the Angel Moroni as has been show prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon. And David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Lucy Mack Smith records events prior to when Oliver Cowdery who many attribute the assumption to, well before Oliver Cowdery ever takes to any statement or record which states his testimony in the matter.
Yes, Oliver Cowdery, the Second Elder and Apostle of the Church in his time, was one who most obviously pronounced the hill in New York as the hill Cumorah according to the records. Oliver was the Second Elder of the Church standing second only to Joseph Smith. He had aid in a major portion of the book's translation. He would would be a special witness of the plates, the angel Moroni and various artifacts related to it including the vault of records as related by President Brigham Young. He and Joseph had received the priesthood together under the administration of angels and apostles. Oliver was one of the three witnesses with David Whitmer and Martin Harris who are also here on record of seting Cumorah as being Cumorah of New York well before Oliver did as above recorded. But Oliver was the one who was called upon to fulfill that mission to the Lamanites and he would preach it to the world in companionship with Parley P. Pratt, who was also known to publish the fact that Cumorah was the very Curmorah in New York. Some say that Oliver's contrivance took some time. Yet it was upon the first mission of the Church to the Lamanites where Oliver is first on record stating to the North American Indians, those Lamanites, that the hill in New York where the golden plates were found was the very hill of Cumorah that was found in the Book of Mormon record. The following quote is only part of the address, which Oliver delivered to the Indians, to the Lamanites.
"This book which contained these things was hid in the earth by Moroni in a hill called by him Cumorah, which hill is now in the State of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario County."
(First Mission To the Lamanites. by John Jaques, Assistant Church Historian., Improvement Era, 1899, Vol. Iii. November, 1899. No. 1. .)
During the life time of Joseph Smith, in the publications of the Church which would have been available to and over seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and Parley P. Pratt and others where persistently taught and defined the Hill Cumorah in the state of New York as the same ancient hill of the Nephites. A very large and conspicuous number of the early Church authorities had also continued to so maintain this fact. It appears in the publications of the Church through out. And is in many of them today.
Joseph Smith on three addition occasions confirms by revelation, personal writing and scripture the same conclusion about Cumorah in New York being the Cumorah of the Nephites. In the History of the Chruch volume two is the revelation of Zelph recounted. That history was being prepared in 1842 and 1844 while the prophet was alive and he had commissioned the history to be written and it was written under his supervision. And despite the muddlings of Kenneth W. Godfrey which attacks the prime 'eye witness' account to the fact of President Wilford Woodruff, Zelph is only one of all the evidences that Cumorah is Cumorah. And it is most decidedly consistent with each of the other records.
And then there is the letter to Emma Smith written by Joseph Smith the day after the Zelph incident of June 3rd 1834, where in the Prophet tells Emma that Zion's Camp was traveling the lands and 'plains of the Nephites.' That letter has five corroborating points in but one short paragraph which confirm the information found in the Church History account of the Zelph story.
And last but not least, as an informed Gospel Student can appreciate, in Doctrine and Covenants section 128 verse 19-21 Joseph Smith makes it a matter of scripture. Joseph there proclaims that the events of the restoration, all of which occurred in the land regions of Western New York and neighboring Ohio where the glad tidings ringing forth from the 'land of Cumorah.'
It is hard to see, when Joseph speaks the name in 1827 in the presence of his family including Lucy Mack Smith and Joseph Smith Sr. and in 1842 as a matter of scripture, how Joseph was prone to be influenced in his knowledge of Cumorah being Cumorah. It can not be by any other source than but the divine source of God's messengers. David Whitmer confirms this as his first hearing of the word Cumorah was from the angelic messenger, Moroni, who was carrying the plates from Harmony to the land of Cumorah of which Fayette fits well within. Martin Harris, though far removed from the translation of the Book of Mormon when that book sites Cumorah, is well versed in the concept of Cumorah even before the book is published. And Oliver Cowdery, as confirmed by other corroborating witnesses to the facts, as testified to by President Brigham Young, absolutely confirms that Cumorah in New York is the Cumorah of the Nephtes and Mormon's depository of all the Nephite records.
And in addition there is witness upon witness, many who lived in the presence and under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith who do testify the same. Now one might consider one or two accounts of such to be questionable in the light of some dissection of information relative to other items of analysis. But when the evidence is so diverse, from non-Mormon accounts to declarations from the pulpit by the Lord's own anointed First Presidencies, Prophets, Apostles, and many, many others, including Joseph Smith himself, how can one continue to question? Just the list of who's statements, testimonies and histories have to be disavowed is staggering. You deny the Prophet's mother by some contrivance. You deny the Prophet by some contrivance. You deny David Whitmer by some contrivance. You deny a non-Member's account of what Martin Harris stated by some contrivance. You deny Oliver Cowdery by some contrivance. You deny Parley P. Pratt by some contrivance. You deny Brigham Young and his 'other' witnesses by some contrivance. You deny President Wilford Woodruff by some contrivance. And you continue to deny any of the Church's First Presidencies, Apostles, Historians, and Prophets by some contrivance. So the questions is, what do you believe and what will you accept when you have denied and refuted so many of the Church's authorities and the Lord's anointed? Just when does the game stop, where is the line drawn between when and what will be accepted as opposed to what will not be accept of what the Church and its authorities attest to?
Perhaps they are all 'mere' hobbyist and only the learned of letters are to be believed. If so, then the same is the case of a farm boy's simple pray compared to the trained clergy of the recognized institutes and seminaries of the world of formalized religion. And perhaps to such educated scholars who can dissect the truth through analysis I am but of a 'closed mind,' 'very credulous,' and 'completely ridiculous' to site the name calling resorted to by such scholarly minds. And if 'closed mindedness' is in reference to rejecting the dissections and analysis of the learned intellectuals of worldly intelligence when listed against the teachings of the Church and its Apostles and Prophets, then so be it. And if being 'very credulous' means that I have the faith and belief of a child in accepting the word of God over that of sophistry of the ivory tower then so be it. For I fully believe and accept God's creation of the earth and not in my evolution by the natural selection out of chaos and mere happenstance. And I fully believe and accept the universal flood of Noah in the Bible's time frame, and the dividing of the earth in the days of Peleg, and the separation of the Red Sea by Moses where by the Children of Israel walked through the sea upon dry land. And I accept the appearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to a farm boy of 14 in the state of New York in 1820. And I believe in angels and revelation from God's Holy Spirit to man. And if in the world of Intellectualism that makes me to be 'completely ridiculous' then so be it. It does seem to me (think me) that those who argue against all that presents Cumorah as being the Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, are those of same 'intellectual fluff of mirrors and smoke' which uses theory as fact and support such theories as there being no God, you and I evolved from lower primates and are not children of God, and who make of the Bible mere folklore and fantasy tales.
When one begins to attack so much of our church's early history and so many of our church's early leaders over such a matter as Cumorah, it leads me to ask what, who, where, when, why, and how next will fall to those so inclined. Will it be various aspects of the Word of Wisdom that they will begin to bend, take exception to and say 'yah-but' about? Various such groups have already fallen by the way side over such matters as proper priesthood accession to the Presidency. Others just found an intolerance to various leaders including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and Joseph Fielding Smith. Others made it a single doctrinal of selection plural marriage over all else and at the expense of all else. Perhaps one day it will come down to a matter of Cumorah. Many of the anti-Cumorah group already so no tolerance for those of any such opposing views but their own. Would they sacrifice their membership just to maintain that they are right and the Church is wrong? Such simple matters may start small and seem in significant, but what does it lead to. Brigham Young is 'completely ridiculous?' Joseph Fielding Smith is 'very credulous.' And Gordon B. Hinckley is 'closed minded' in respect to 'intellectualism?' Perhaps it just depends on who is the leader as to my willingness to follow? Or maybe I'll just follow those things, which I want to follow when I like what they say.
On September 22, 1823, the Angel Moroni first told Joseph Smith that the hill's name was Cumorah and that the ancient Nephties had met their end about that very hill where the Golden Plates now lay in the side of the hill. Over the next years, Joseph would repeat the tales of the Nephites and their life style to his family about the fireplace as Joseph would be visited and meet in addition to Moroni other prophets of the Book of Mormon. It would be at such times and in the confidence of his own family that the boy prophet would refer to the hill by the name of Cumorah to his family. In the year of 1827, prior to the time when Joseph would finally receive the plates, Moroni spoke with Joseph by the hill of Cumorah and admonished him to be more about the Lord's work. Joseph tells of the instance and refers to the hill by its name, the hill of Cumorah. Moroni was the Lord's caretaker of the Golden Plates and he would at times assist the Prophet Joseph in the protection of the plates. At one time, Moroni carried the plates from Harmony to Fayette and was encountered by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer on their Journey. At that time Moroni reference by name the fact that he was traveling to 'Cumorah.' Before the publication of the Book of Mormon, Martin Harris, seeking for a loan on his farm to finance the book's printing, was interviewed by a financier name Charles Butler. It is the non-member Charles Butler's writings of the incidence which confirms that Martin Harris understood before the book was published that the hill was the hill Cumorah and that is was the same as the ancient hill of the Nephites. At the completion of the translation, the plates where returned to Moroni's keeping. Joseph and Oliver went to the hill of Cumorah and it opened up to reveal a large room where Mormon had placed all of the records of the Nephites. Joseph and Oliver saw this and a few selected Church and family members were aware of the event and they held the information in confidence. To maintain the security of the hill the exact details of the return of the plates was not revealed until 1877 by the Prophet Brigham Young. Oliver Cowdery taught that Cumorah was Cumorah to the Indians on his first mission in 1830/31. He and his companion, Parley P. Pratt would write and publish concerning the identity of the hill as being that of the ancient Cumorah. Such writings where published in the early church publications under the direction of Joseph Smith. In 1834, on during the march of Zion's Camp, Joseph told of a white Lamanite named Zelph and used the name of Cumorah in his telling of the revelation he had received concerning Zelph. Joseph authorized and over saw the making of the History of the Church in which the Zelph story appears. In 1842, Joseph published to the world section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In that scripture Joseph states that the events of the restoration in the Cumorah hill regions where the 'Glad tidings being heard from 'Cumorah!' Today some deny that Cumorah is Cumorah in New York. They surmise by various means that Joseph never knew that the hill of Cumorah was the Cumorah of the Nephites. I have read their materials and I read with understanding their logic, but I cannot agree with their conclusions. They discredit and ignore many of the facts and the Lord's anointed in the process they take in their denial of Cumorah. They pretend that the name Cumorah was not generally associated with hill until much later and a matter of the Prophet being influenced by his peers on the matter. There are just too many witnesses and facts of the matter for their contrivance to hold up in my assessment of it. I have presented such information here for all to review and to then make up their own minds upon the matter. My presentation is biased in that I support Cumorah being Cumorah, but I do so based on the facts of the presentation and upon the words of many, not just relying on my own contrivance in the matter. I think my presentation none the worse than that of those who propagate the opposite view who base the dissection of the matter more upon the intellectual learning of men than that of the published words of the Church and the General Authorities of the Church. When confronted with such a choice as to whom to believe, my choice is clear.