Emma Smith's Eyewitness Testimony: Joseph Had No Manuscript — The Book of Mormon Was a Marvel

In early 1879, Emma Smith — Joseph's wife, his closest companion, and one of his primary scribes — gave a detailed interview to her son Joseph Smith III and others about the translation of the Book of Mormon. Her testimony stands as one of the most powerful eyewitness accounts of the miracle:

On whether Joseph had a manuscript or book to read from:

'He had neither manuscript nor book to read from.'

When asked if he could have concealed such a document from her:

'If he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me.'

On the plates themselves:

'The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth, which I had given him to fold them in. I once felt of the plates, as they thus lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book.'

On whether Joseph could have pre-written the text:

'Joseph Smith... could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter; let alone dictating a book like the Book of Mormon. And, though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired, and was present during the translation of the plates, and had cognizance of things as they transpired, it is marvelous to me, "a marvel and a wonder," as much so as to any one else.'

Emma sat at the same table as Joseph, writing day after day with nothing between them. She moved the cloth-wrapped plates around the table as she worked. She was in a uniquely positioned to observe any fraud — and she consistently testified there was none. This is among the most credible eyewitness testimonies to the divine origin of the Book of Mormon.