Before starting this project, the only thing I had ever heard about the Kinderhook plates came from a Scripture Central video. The only thing I knew was that modern scholars are able to verify that Joseph Smith correctly identified what appears to be an Egyptian symbol that looks like a boat.
The Kinderhook plates are really just a small blip in the story of Joseph Smith’s very complex and full life. Because they have nothing to do with revelation, there is no doctrine that comes from them and no real benefit to studying them. There is simply no reason for them to ever come up in normal Church or Seminary settings.
The only time the Kinderhook plates are brought up today is when anti-Mormons try to use them to discredit the prophet Joseph Smith. But as I have studied the history and put the pieces of this story together, it turns out that the reason we even know the truth about the Kinderhook plates is because of a failed anti-Mormon effort in 1879. Ironically, it was those anti-Mormon attempts that preserved the evidence showing that Joseph Smith did not fall for a hoax.
Yet anti-Mormons still attempt to use the same discredited argument from the 1800s.
What are the Kinderhook Plates?
On April 23, 1843, in Kinderhook, Illinois, a group of men, including two Latter-day Saints, dug into an ancient Native American burial mound and uncovered human bones along with six brass plates. The plates were described as bell-shaped.
As you can imagine, the Latter-day Saints were very excited to see metal plates, since this would support the idea of ancient records similar to the Book of Mormon. At the time, scholars and archaeologists mocked the idea that ancient records could exist on metal plates. If the Kinderhook plates had been real, they would have been seen as strong evidence that ancient people like those in the Book of Mormon did indeed use metal plates.
Locals around Kinderhook were excited about the discovery, and over the next few days the plates were displayed in Pittsfield, Illinois, and other nearby settlements along the Mississippi River.
The Latter-day Saints who were present at the dig asked for permission to take the plates to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo for examination, and the owners agreed to loan them out.
Kinderhook Plates in Nauvoo
On April 29th the plates arrived in Nauvoo, and were there for five days. There was no official or public display, like was done for the Abraham Papyrus, but the plates were shown privately to Joseph Smith as well as a few individuals. There was lots of excitement and speculation about what they might be and if Joseph Smith could translate them.
In the Nauvoo Times and Seasons a brief editorial note was made that said, only this about the Kinderhook Plates:
Mr. Smith has had those plates, what his opinion concerning them is, we have not yet ascertained.
Joseph Smith’s Egyptian Characters Notebook
Joseph did examined the Kinderhook plates and compared the characters with his Hebrew Bible and with the GAEL, a study project where Joseph and other church leaders attempted to determine meaning of characters on the Pearl of Great Price papyrus after Joseph had translated the Book of Abraham by revelation.
The GAEL was a workbook of ideas and notes, and Joseph compared these with the characters he saw on the Kinderhook plates, including what appeared to be a curved, ark-like shape Joseph was familiar with from the Egyptian papyrus. William Clayton recorded this note in his journal.
President J. has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found, and he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.
This was not a dictation or a revelation. It was simply a later summary William Clayton wrote in his personal journal, recording his understanding of what Joseph was thinking while examining the Kinderhook plates.
It is possible Joseph said something along the lines of, “This is the symbol we associate with Noah, Ham, or a ruler.” Because bones were found at the burial site, Clayton may have assumed Joseph was referring to the person whose remains were uncovered and concluded that Joseph meant the buried individual fit those descriptions.
It is also possible, though speculative, that Joseph briefly sought revelation and believed he saw who the buried individual was. If so, Clayton may have interpreted that as meaning the person was an ancient figure connected to Ham. There is no record of Joseph presenting this as a formal revelation, publishing it, or treating it as scripture. We really don’t know much at all of what Joseph thought about the Kinderhook Plates.
Joseph Never Said, “I Translated the Plates”
After Joseph Smith died Willard Richards began compiling all the records about Joseph Smith from not only Joseph Smith’s journal but others including Willfard Woodruff and William Clayton to create a first person biography, which was common in those days.
This History of the Church was published In 1909, under the direction of B.H. Roberts. Taking the account from William Clayton’s personal Journal, the narrative appears for the first time that Joseph said, “I have translated a portion”
There Was No Attempt To Translate the Kinderhook Plates
Joseph never made any kind of claims as to attempting to translate them, and he had no scribes write down any king of translation which he always had done when translating the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, Book of Moses, and the revelations in the Doctrine in Covenants. Unlike what he did with the Egyptian Papyrus used for the Book of Abraham, the Church did not try to purchase the plates and apparently had no interest in the Kinderhook Plates at all.
According to Wilur Fugate, who was one of the people responsible for these plates at Kinderhook:
Joseph Smith said he would not attempt a translation unless the plates were sent to “the Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, or to France or England,” and unless those societies certified them as genuine antiquities.
This statement imply that Joseph Smith didn’t believe that the Kinderhook plates were authentic. Fugate claims that Robert Wiley then took charge to send the plates off to the antiquarian societies. These plates were supposedly sent to the antiquity verification, but the socities replied that “the characters were unknown and could not be classified.”
Non Member Witness
There was also a non member who observed Joseph, the plates, and the characters in Joseph’s Egyptian Alphabet. He later wrote to the New York Herald describing how the plates were brought in and shown to Joseph, and how Joseph compared the strange symbols with the characters in his Egyptian study notes.
This account confirms William Clayton’s account and that Joseph approached the Kinderhook plates in a normal, secular way by examining and comparing characters rather than claiming revelation. He made his own conclusion that Joseph “would be able to decipher them.”
Kinderhook Plates Fade into Oblivion
After Joseph did not attempt to buy or translate the plates, they were then returned to the owners in Pike County. Where they were almost never spoken of again.
After this there is virtually nothing known about the plates, and the ploy to get Joseph Smith to translate them died. The 6 Kinderhook plates were either lost, discarded, destroyed, or reusde for something else.
On May 24th, the Nauvoo Neighbor Published a hand drawn illistration of the six Kinderhook Plates and this paragraph describing their discovery.
Mr. Smith has had those plates, and compared the characters with those on the Book of Mormon plates, and they are evidently the same.
The paper did not say Joseph translated them, nor that he declared them ancient. It simply reported that Joseph had examined them and compared the characters. According the the paper, they were “evidently” similar, but there is no evidence that this is something Joseph Smith ever said.
This line is important because it does not say anything about revelation or a real translation. It reflects comparison and curiosity, not certainty.
The Neighbor also repeated the general excitement that the plates could be an ancient record, but offered no translation, no prophetic statement, and no authentication claim.
1879 Wilbur Fugate Reveals The Hoax
In 1879, 36 years after the plates were discovered, William Fugate wanted to set the record straight and admitted that the Kinderplates were all just a hoax.
He said that He, Wiley and Whitten planned the hoax because they wanted to fool Joseph Smith and embarass the Mormons. Whetten cut the plates from copper and he and whiley etched the characters using beeswax molds and acid, and then buried them in a mound that already contained bones and ancient remains.
Next they staged a public dig to “discover” them. The Latter-Day Saints present were part of the staged public and were not part of the deception. Fugate noted that Joseph Smith refused to translate them without external authentication, that they sent the plates for that verification to the antiquarian societes of which would not verify the characters as ancient. After that the Hoax was a “humbug.”
The Record that Needed to be Set Straight
There was a lot of speculation surrounding the Kinderhook plates. Some people were aware that a hoax may have been attempted, while many Latter-day Saints still believed the plates could be authentic ancient records. That belief was strengthened by the fact that two Latter-day Saints were present when the plates were unearthed from a burial mound alongside human remains.
James Cobb the Anti-Mormon
James Cobb was an ex–Latter-day Saint and an outspoken critic of the Church. He became a kind of Philastus Hurlbut for his generation, writing letters to former associates, townspeople, and anyone connected to early Nauvoo history in search of accusations against Joseph Smith or material that could cast the Church in a negative light. He published hostile letters in newspapers and preserved a large collection of anti-Mormon correspondence, which later became a source for both critics and historians.
Cobb wrote to Fugate to seek information about the Kinderhook plates to use against the church. He wanted to do the same things that the CES Letter and Letter For My Wife do today, use the hoax of the Kinderhook plates to make Joseph look stupid as someone who believed the plates were genuine and by making a fales translation and prophetic claims about them.
Fugate Confirms Joseph Smith Did Not Translate Them
Fugate wrote his 1879 “confession” letter only because Cobb asked him for information, but Fugate had no interest in supporting Cobb’s attacks on the Church.
By the late 1870s, the Kinderhook story had been twisted into a claim that Joseph Smith accepted the plates as ancient and produced a meaningful translation. Fugate corrected this directly. He stated that the plates were a hoax, explained exactly how they were made, and—most importantly—made clear that Joseph did not treat them as genuine scripture and never translated them by revelation.
Fugate described Joseph as cautious, noting that Joseph refused to translate anything until the plates had been authenticated by outside antiquarian societies. In other words, the man who forged the plates is the one who refutes the very accusation Cobb, and anti-Mormon’s today hoped to prove: Joseph did not believe the plates were authentic, and he never offered a real translation.
Why Fugate Did Not Support Cobb’s Anti-Mormon Interpretation
Although Fugate admitted to helping create the plates and trying to trick the Saints at first, his letter does not show any hostility toward Joseph Smith or try to paint him as a fraud. Fugate’s account and undermines Cobb’s goal.
He explains that Joseph would not translate the plates without outside verification and that nothing more than a brief comparison of characters ever took place. Fugate does not support Cobb’s narrative. He corrects the record about how limited Joseph’s involvement really was and shows that critics had exaggerated the story. His letter discredits the anti-Mormon claims Cobb hoped to use as evidence that Joseph Smith was a false prophet.
Kinderhook Plates Fade into Obscurity
After this, there is virtually nothing known about the plates, and the ploy to get Joseph Smith to translate them died. The six Kinderhook plates were either lost, discarded, destroyed, or reused for something else.
On May 24, the Nauvoo Neighbor published a hand-drawn illustration of the six Kinderhook plates along with this paragraph describing their discovery:
“Mr. Smith has had those plates, and compared the characters with those on the Book of Mormon plates, and they are evidently the same.”
The paper did not say Joseph translated them, nor that he declared them ancient. It simply reported that Joseph had examined them and compared the characters. According to the paper, they were “evidently” similar, but there is no evidence this wording came from Joseph Smith himself.
This line is important because it says nothing about revelation or a real translation. It reflects comparison and curiosity, not certainty.
The Neighbor also repeated the general excitement that the plates could be an ancient record, but it offered no translation, no prophetic statement, and no authentication claim.
1879 Wilbur Fugate Reveals The Hoax
In 1879, thirty-six years after the plates were discovered, Wilbur Fugate wanted to set the record straight and admitted that the Kinderhook plates were a hoax.
He stated that he, Wiley, and Whitten planned the hoax because they wanted to fool Joseph Smith and embarrass the Mormons. Whitten cut the plates from copper, and he and Wiley etched the characters using beeswax molds and acid, then buried them in a mound that already contained bones and ancient remains.
They then staged a public dig to “discover” the plates. The Latter-day Saints who were present were part of the staged audience and were not involved in the deception. Fugate noted that Joseph Smith refused to translate the plates without external authentication, and that the plates were sent to antiquarian societies, which were unable to verify the characters as ancient. After that, the hoax was exposed as a humbug.
The Record that Needed to be Set Straight
There was a lot of speculation surrounding the Kinderhook plates. Some people were aware that a hoax may have been attempted, while many Latter-day Saints still believed the plates could be authentic ancient records. That belief was strengthened by the fact that two Latter-day Saints were present when the plates were unearthed from a burial mound alongside human remains.
James Cobb the Anti-Mormon
James Cobb was an ex–Latter-day Saint and an outspoken critic of the Church. He became a Philastrus Hurlbut for his generation, writing letters to former associates, townspeople, and anyone connected to early Nauvoo history in search of accusations against Joseph Smith or material that could cast the Church in a negative light. He published hostile letters in newspapers and preserved a large collection of anti-Mormon correspondence, which later became a source for both critics and historians.
Cobb wrote to Fugate to seek information about the Kinderhook plates to use against the Church. He wanted to do what the CES Letter and Letter For My Wife attempt today, to use the Kinderhook hoax to portray Joseph as someone who believed the plates were genuine and that he was a false prophet who made a false translation about them.
Fugate Confirms Joseph Smith Did Not Translate Them
Fugate wrote his 1879 “confession” letter only because Cobb asked him for information, but Fugate, even though he at one time had tried to fool the church, had no interest in supporting Cobb’s anti-Mormon attacks.
By the late 1870s, the Kinderhook story had been twisted into a claim that Joseph Smith accepted the plates as ancient and produced a meaningful translation. Fugate corrected this directly. He stated that the plates were a hoax, explained exactly how they were made, and—most importantly—made clear that Joseph did not treat them as genuine, as scripture, and never attempted to translate them.
Fugate described Joseph as cautious, noting that Joseph refused to translate anything until the plates had been authenticated by outside antiquarian societies. In other words, the man who forged the plates is the one who refutes the very accusation Cobb, and anti-Mormon’s today hoped to prove: Joseph did not believe the plates were authentic, and he never offered a real translation.
Why Fugate Did Not Support Cobb’s Anti-Mormon Interpretation
Although Fugate admitted to helping create the plates and trying to trick the Saints at first, his letter does not show hostility toward Joseph Smith or attempt to portray him as a fraud. Fugate’s account undermines Cobb’s goal.
He explains that Joseph would not translate the plates without outside verification and that nothing more than a brief comparison of characters ever took place. Fugate does not support Cobb’s narrative. He corrects the record about how limited Joseph’s involvement really was and shows that critics had exaggerated the story. His letter discredits the anti-Mormon claims Cobb hoped to use as evidence that Joseph Smith was a false prophet.
Kinderhook Plate Found in Chicago
In 1980 Northwestern University tested the Kinderhook plates with the latest scientific technology and concluded that the characters were from an acid etching, not engraving, and were using a 19th century brass rather than ancient metal that support Fugate’s explanation and admittance of a Kinderhook Plates Hoax.
TLDR Kinderhook Plates Conclusion
The Kinderhook plates were a hoax intended to trick the Saints and make Joseph Smith look foolish, but the attempt failed. Ironically, the reason we know this is because anti-Mormon critics tried to use the plates as evidence against Joseph Smith. In doing so, they preserved the only primary source from one of the men who created the hoax, who admitted that Joseph Smith refused to translate the plates and never treated them as an authentic ancient record.