Just_A_Guy Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 via the Millennial Star blog. In short: The theory is that Joseph Smith thought that one of the characters on the Kinderhook Plates resembled a character that had previously turned up in his Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar; and the interpretation of that particular character (as given in the Alphabet and Grammar) referred to the pharaonic line. Joseph therefore made an off-the-cuff suggestion that the record had to do with that line (which, per the Book of Abraham, originated with Ham), which was recorded by Clayton and Pratt and later amplified into some sort of suggestion that Smith had undertaken a formal translation. The theory was developed by Don Bradley, and his paper is available here. Vort 1 Quote
Vort Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Given that there is no first-hand material on what Joseph said or did in this regard -- that is, Joseph Smith apparently never authored anything, and all we have are second-hand accounts -- I've always kind of assumed the whole Kinderhook thing was a small seed that grew wildly in the telling. Litzy and Blackmarch 2 Quote
Litzy Posted January 21, 2015 Report Posted January 21, 2015 Yet people love the idea. Nothing finer than a theory. I looked into it back when and found any proper first-hand sources dismal. Blackmarch 1 Quote
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