November 19, 1931.

President James H. Moyle,

Eastern States Mission,

273 Gates Ave,

Brooklyn, N.Y.

My Dear Moyle:

I have your letter of November 10th, also your note following it of November 14th, chiefly in relation to the Book of Mormon and some traditional wonders about the multiplicity of the Nephite plates in the Hill Cumorah, etc., etc.

In replying to your inquiry about the source of these, at least apparently extravagant reports, I am enclosing herewith a copy of a discourse delivered by President Brigham Young at Farmington on June 17, 1877, which I think will clear up the substance of your inquiry both about the source of these wonders and also the extremist representation of them. In this discourse, you will find the full statement about Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith going to the Hill Cumorah to return the plates; of the hill apparently opening to receive them; of their entrance into it and of the amount of plates collected there, amounting as President Young declares to "probably many wagon loads, they were piled up in the corner and along the walls," etc., etc. Also the legend about the sword of Laban, sheathed and unsheathed, and its significance. Moreover, you will find there the beliefs of President Young about the slipperiness of mines in the mountains and of their being removed from one place to another by the angels, etc., etc. Plainly, I do not know what to make of it. It would be very damaging to the rationalism of our message to the world concerning the Book of Mormon if dwelled upon by our Elders and will go far towards establishing us and our early leaders as among the ignorant and superstitious people of our times. I have often wished that the story about the return of these plates could have been left as Joseph Smith gives them in his statement in the Pearl of Great Price (Writings of Joseph Smith, p.54), where he says: "They (the plates) remained safe in my hands until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand; when, according to arrangements, the messenger (Moroni) called for them. I delivered them up to him and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second day of May, 1838." This is, I think, the official account of the disposition of the plates after the Prophet had translated the part of them he was commanded to translate, and this, I think, should be the representation that the Elders should make of this matter to the world. The rest of it, though President Young be the author of those fantastic things, I think we could regard as accumulated tradition in the aftermath of the translation of the Book of Mormon and the wonder-loving inclination in men's minds about such things.

Relative to the difficulties of the Nephites removing from the southern part of perhaps Mexico and Central America into the land of great waters on the northern boundary of what is now the United States and their fighting their war of extermination so far from their homes, etc., etc. All these constitute to my mind very great difficulties and just how to account for them I hardly know, together with the difficulty with their base of supplies for fighting their battles, food transportation, and all the rest of it, is extremely difficult to account for, which difficulties however are probably increased by the fact that we have only an abridgment of their records and the story must be distressingly abbreviated. Nor do we know the means of transportation they employed. These remarks may not help much in solving the difficulties in your mind and what you refer to does not point out all our troubles along this line. Some day the Church will have to give thought to these and many other things with a view of preparing our ministry to meet them by some kind of reasonable explanation. These matters, however, I do not feel that I can take up at the present time. I shall have to wait for another opportunity to discuss them with you, as my time just now is limited, but I assure you I am interested in your inquiries and hope what is here set down will be a little helpful.

I think my general health is improving and the wound from my amputation is healing, but not yet closed in.

Very truly your brother,

BHR/c