Anthon Transcript

In 1838, Smith related an account based on Harris's version of the meeting. Smith wrote that Anthon "stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. [Harris] then showed him those not yet translated, and said they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic"; and that they were "true characters." According to Harris, Anthon wrote Harris a letter of authenticity declaring the fragment to contain true Egyptian characters. Anthon was also reported to have confirmed the translation of these characters as correct. When informed that an angel of God had revealed the characters to Smith, Anthon reportedly tore up the authentication stating that there was no such thing as angels and asked Harris to bring the plates to him for translation. Harris then went to Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, who sanctioned what Anthon said. ==Anthon's accounts of meeting with Harris==

professor Charles Anthon In 1834, Anthon stated in a letter that, "The whole story about my having pronounced the Mormonite inscription to be 'reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics' is perfectly false. ... I soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick, perhaps a hoax. ... [Harris] requested an opinion from me in writing, which of course I declined giving." Anthon described the transcript in that letter as containing "(g)reek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters inverted or placed sideways... arranged in perpendicular columns, and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle divided into various compartments, decked with various strange marks." Anthon stated in the letter that the story of his supposed authentication was false, that Anthon had identified the writings as a hoax, and that he had told Harris that the writings were part of "a scheme to cheat the farmer [Harris] of his money". Anthon gave a second account in 1841 that contradicted his 1834 account as to whether he gave Harris a written opinion about the document: "[Harris] requested me to give him my opinion in writing about the paper which he had shown to me. I did so without hesitation, partly for the man's sake, and partly to let the individual 'behind the curtain' see that his trick was discovered. The import of what I wrote was, as far as I can now recollect, simply this, that the marks in the paper appeared to be merely an imitation of various alphabetical characters, and had, in my opinion, no meaning at all connected with them." In the 1841 account, Anthon described the characters as "arranged in columns like the Chinese mode of writing .. (g)reek, Hebrew, and all sort of letters ... intermingled with sundry delineations of half moons, stars, and other natural objects, and the whole ended in a rude representation of the Mexican zodiac." Anthon provided a third account in an August 12, 1844 letter and indicated, referring to Harris, "I told the man at once that he was imposed upon and that the writing was mere trash." Anthon described the transcript as containing "in one or two parallel columns rude imitations of Hebrew and Greek characters together with various delineations of sun, moon, stars, &c.." Anthon in the first two accounts maintained that he told Harris that Harris was the victim of a fraud. Pomeroy Tucker, a contemporary of Harris and Smith, opined in 1867 that all the scholars whom Harris visited "were understood to have scouted the whole pretense as too depraved for serious attention, while commiserating the applicant as the victim of fanaticism or insanity." ==Caractors Document==

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now known as Community of Christ) purchased a handwritten slip of paper from the heirs of David Whitmer, then thought to be the Anthon Transcript; this particular candidate is now called the Caractors Document. Recent scholarship, including handwriting analysis, suggests the "Caractors Document" was written in or after 1829, by David Whitmer's brother John Whitmer, and therefore would not have been available to show Anthon or others in 1828. The symbols on the document were published twice in 1844, after Smith's death, as characters that had been copied from the gold plates, one of them in the December 21 issue of The Prophet. Four non-linguist Mormon translators with varying levels of education have attempted to decipher the "Caractors" document. The document is portrayed in the 2004 film The Work and the Glory. The "Caractors Document" was sold in 2024 to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as part of a larger transfer of physical property between the two organizations. ==References==