"The fact that one person can't imagine something doesn't mean it is impossible, it may just mean that the person has a limited imagination." — John H. McDonald, University of Delaware
After I wrote an article about the weight of the Golden Plates (about 53 pounds) and the number of plates required to engrave the current Book of Mormon (about 20 pages), one person sent me an e-mail disputing a recollection of Lucy Mack Smith about her son Joseph Smith Jr.
"How in the world could Joseph Smith have carried the plates under one arm and 'run at top speed' through the forest," the e-mailer wrote, "jumping over logs (with a documented life long limp from a surgery he received for typhoid fever and had to use a walking stick later in life) while fighting off three separate men where at least one hit Smith in the head with a gun? I can assure you that if you pick up a 50- to 60-pound dumbbell and try to run with it in one hand, you couldn't run more than 100 feet, let alone three miles through the forest. Those men would have easily been able to catch Joseph Smith and subdue him. This story doesn't make any sense."
The story the e-mailer is asking about is a second-hand account of Joseph's experiences when he went to retrieve the gold plates that he had hidden in the forest about three miles from his home. Lucy Mack Smith's late recollection is an exciting account of Joseph being attacked in the woods, fighting off a few attackers and coming home injured, frightened and exhausted. It is a fair assumption that her information came straight from her son that evening.
The problems the e-mailer had with the run through the forest can be solved by going to the source and seeing what Lucy Mack Smith wrote. The text comes from "The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother," edited by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor.
"The plates were secreted about three miles from home …"
This is how far away the plates are, not how far Joseph ran that night.
"Joseph took the plates from their place and, wrapping them in his linen frock, put them under his arm and started for the house."
The description does not prevent Joseph from carrying the plates under his other arm or using both arms as needed. We can't expect his mother to give a precise accounting of the exact positions of her son's hands over the whole journey and how often he may have paused to catch his breath or scratch his nose. Remember also that Joseph was well-known for his strength. And yes, he had a slight limp because one leg was slightly shorter than the other. Even so, he was virtually unbeaten in pulling sticks — a feat that relies upon strength of arms and legs.
"After walking a short distance in the road, he thought it would be safer to go across through the woods."
We don't know how far "a short distance" is.
"Traveling some distance after he left the road, he came to a large windfall."
"Some distance" could be quite far — one mile? Two?
"(A)nd as he was jumping over a log, a man sprang up from behind and gave him a heavy blow with a gun."
"Log" not "logs." It also doesn't say he was holding the plates as he jumped over the log. The most likely thing for a person to do when coming to an obstacle like this is to set the heavy item down on top, jump over and then pick it up again. Notice it does not say where the man hit him.
"Joseph turned around and knocked him to the ground."
Joseph won the fight. He was a man's man. And if it were like his other fights, that man probably wasn't going to go chasing after him. There is nothing in the account about being chased.
"(A)nd then ran at the top of his speed."
Or, in other words, Joseph ran as fast as he could. How fast? As fast as he could. This doesn't mean, of course, he was able to run as fast as he could if he wasn't carrying the plates. It also doesn't mean he was running as fast as he could when he was well rested. But, he was running at the top of his speed — at least that is what he told his mother. Even though he was on God's errand and probably had an adrenaline rush from being attacked, the farther he went, the slower he would go, but it would still be as fast as he could.
"About half a mile further, he was attacked again in precisely the same way."
Did he run the whole half-mile? Maybe. He was attacked again — and strikes back.
"He soon brought this one down also and ran on again."
No mention of the squashed man getting back up and chasing him.
"(B)ut before he got home, he was accosted the third time with a severe stroke with a gun."
It is not clear how close he is to home now.
"When he struck the last one, he dislocated his thumb, which, however, he did not notice till he came in sight of the house."
Three attackers. One at a time. All bested by Joseph. Don't mess with the Prophet.
"He threw himself down in the corner of the fence to recover his breath. As soon as he was able, he rose and finished his race for the house, where he arrived altogether speechless from fright and exhaustion."
The last part of this story passes from second-hand to a first-hand account. Lucy Mack Smith saw her exhausted and frightened son. She saw his dislocated thumb. She heard, and believed, her son's story.
Almost all of the points the e-mailer were not from the story at all. Running three miles? Being chased? They could have easily subdued him? A debilitating limp? Hit in the head? Jumping multiple logs? Jumping logs while carrying the plates?
Notice also that the story was not about outrunning people while carrying the gold plates. The story never says he couldn't be caught. It says that he was caught three times.
But the e-mailer is correct about one thing. I cannot pick up a 50-pound object and run through a forest.
Joseph, however, could. And I pity those who caught him.E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com