Lucy Harris
Encyclopedia
Lucy Harris (1792–1836) was the wife of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses
to the Book of Mormon's
Golden Plates
.
, New York
.
Early on during the translation of the Book of Mormon
Lucy became frustrated with Martin (and skeptical of Joseph Smith, Jr.) because of how much her husband was helping Smith with the translation of the Book of Mormon. In order to convince Lucy that they were translating an ancient book of scripture, Martin Harris asked Joseph Smith, Jr. to let him borrow the first 116 pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon. Smith said that these pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon were a translation from the Book of Lehi. At Harris' insistence (and despite Smith saying he was warned not to by the Lord) Smith reluctantly loaned the pages to Harris. The manuscript was subsequently lost, and a variety of theories as to its disappearance have arisen. Some Mormons
believe that Lucy hid them from Joseph Smith, Jr, gave them to friends, disposed of them in some way or that they were stolen from the Harris's house. Others believe that she hid the pages on purpose to see if Joseph Smith could replicate what he previously "read" off the golden plates.
When Harris approached Smith and told him what happened, the latter became angry and left to go and pray. When he returned, he said God
appeared to him in a vision and told him to not retranslate the portion of the Golden Plates
the 116 pages were taken from. Instead, the material would be replaced with Nephi's Abridgment of his father's record.
In part due to their continued disagreement over the legitimacy of Joseph Smith and the golden plates, and because of the loss of his farm, which he had mortgaged to publish the Book of Mormon, Harris and his wife separated. Lucy Harris was described by Lucy Mack Smith
as a woman of "irascible temper," but Harris may also have abused her. Lucy Harris also suggested that her husband may have committed adultery with a neighboring "Mrs. Haggart."
Both the Hitchens and South Park references were based on Fawn Brodie's
biography No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
, which first asserted the claim that Lucy Harris stole the manuscript.
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
to the Book of Mormon's
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
.
Life
Lucy and Martin were first cousins. They were married on March 27, 1808, in PalmyraPalmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Early on during the translation of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
Lucy became frustrated with Martin (and skeptical of Joseph Smith, Jr.) because of how much her husband was helping Smith with the translation of the Book of Mormon. In order to convince Lucy that they were translating an ancient book of scripture, Martin Harris asked Joseph Smith, Jr. to let him borrow the first 116 pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon. Smith said that these pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon were a translation from the Book of Lehi. At Harris' insistence (and despite Smith saying he was warned not to by the Lord) Smith reluctantly loaned the pages to Harris. The manuscript was subsequently lost, and a variety of theories as to its disappearance have arisen. Some Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
believe that Lucy hid them from Joseph Smith, Jr, gave them to friends, disposed of them in some way or that they were stolen from the Harris's house. Others believe that she hid the pages on purpose to see if Joseph Smith could replicate what he previously "read" off the golden plates.
When Harris approached Smith and told him what happened, the latter became angry and left to go and pray. When he returned, he said God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
appeared to him in a vision and told him to not retranslate the portion of the Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
the 116 pages were taken from. Instead, the material would be replaced with Nephi's Abridgment of his father's record.
In part due to their continued disagreement over the legitimacy of Joseph Smith and the golden plates, and because of the loss of his farm, which he had mortgaged to publish the Book of Mormon, Harris and his wife separated. Lucy Harris was described by Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
as a woman of "irascible temper," but Harris may also have abused her. Lucy Harris also suggested that her husband may have committed adultery with a neighboring "Mrs. Haggart."
In popular culture
- Lucy Harris is portrayed to in the comedy series South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
in an episode "All About the Mormons?" which shows her talking her husband into hiding Smith's original manuscript. She is shown as a skeptic of Joseph Smith Jr, eliciting the only break from the chorus's "Joseph Smith was called a prophet, dum dum dum dum dum." theme with "Lucy Harris smart smart smart, Martin Harris dumb."
- Author Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
uses the Lucy Harris story as proof that Joseph Smith was not a prophet, and that Smith was therefore a fraud, in his book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
Both the Hitchens and South Park references were based on Fawn Brodie's
Fawn M. Brodie
Fawn McKay Brodie was a biographer and professor of history at UCLA, best known for Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History, a work of psychobiography, and No Man Knows My History, an early and still influential non-hagiographic biography of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint...
biography No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith
No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith , by Fawn McKay Brodie, was the first important non-hagiographic biography of Joseph Smith, the founder of Latter Day Saint movement. The book has never gone out of print, and sixty years after its first publication, Knopf was still selling a...
, which first asserted the claim that Lucy Harris stole the manuscript.