Vardell TaylorJanuary 8, 2016

I gather from your article that you assume the translation was done in the same order as the books in our Book of Mormon. That was not the case. David Whitmer could have indeed been present during the translation of 1 Ne 4 since it was done at his fathers home. Emma was not the scribe at that time. The scribe has not been definitively identified but is thought to be John Whitmer. So like Emma stated, "he came and asked me", implying that she was not at his side writing. To me, the more interesting statement here is that Joseph would still consider the possibility that the translation appearing in the hat could be a deception. Given all that had transpired to this point, how could he entertain the possibility of deception? Approximate Book of Mormon Translation Timeline Elden J. Watson Tuesday, June 02, 1829, Fayette Arrive at Whitmer Farm June 03, 1829 to June 25, 1829, Translation of the small plates of Nephi Wednesday, June 03, 1829 1 Nephi 1:1 Oliver Cowdery handwriting Thursday, June 04, 1829 1 Nephi 3:9 O Cowdery & [J Whitmer ?] In an initial evaluation of the handwriting on the Book of Mormon manuscripts, Dean Jessee suggested that the handwriting of the unknown scribe of those pages containing 1Ne 2:23 through 4:2-20 and 1Ne 12:8 through 16:14 was possibly that of John Whitmer [OBMM p 273]. Friday, June 05, 1829 1 Nephi 4:20 unknown hand Saturday, June 06, 1829 1 Nephi 8:24 unknown hand Sunday, June 07, 1829 1 Nephi 12:18 John Whitmer ? handwriting Monday, June 08, 1829 1 Nephi 14:1 John Whitmer ? handwriting