Soon after Joseph's arrival in Harmony, Pennsylvania, the prophet made a copy of a few of the characters engraved on the plates and by means of the Urim and Thummim translated them.

Just how this curious instrument worked we are not sure, but from statements made by a number of those who were closely connected with the translation of the book, we can form a rather accurate opinion. We have already seen that the Urim and Thummim was like a pair of spectacles with two transparent stones for glasses. By looking through these glasses, and thinking about the characters engraved on the golden plates, the prophet was able to grasp the meaning. As soon as he thoroughly understood the idea, he cast the thought into a sentence. This sentence appeared on the Urim and Thummim and remained there until the man who served as scribe had correctly written it down as the prophet dictated. The one who did the writing for the prophet was separated from him by means of curtain. No one, except Joseph, was ever allowed to see those golden plates until after the Book of Mormon was translated.