Did Joseph Smith Fake the Gold Plates? Evidence, Witnesses, and the Math
Did Joseph Smith Fake the Gold Plates? Evidence, Witnesses, and the Math  
Podcast: Informed Saints
Published On: Sun Feb 22 2026
Description: Could Joseph Smith have fabricated the Book of Mormon gold plates in a garage? In this episode, we take a serious look at that claim by comparing it with the actual historical record, eyewitness descriptions, and the physical requirements the witnesses described. We break down the dimensions, weight, thickness, rings, sealed portion, engravings, and appearance of the plates, and then explore whether a natural explanation really fits the data. We also tackle the “plate math” question: Could the full Book of Mormon text (including the lost 116 pages) realistically fit on the plates? Along the way, we discuss: •Witness descriptions of the plates •Why “just use tin/brass/printing plates” doesn’t fully match the evidence •Translation density and how ancient scripts compare to English •Character size, compact writing, and ancient metal inscriptions •Why critics and believers alike should use the right parameters This is a thoughtful response to the claim that “gold plates aren’t a miracle” and a deeper dive into what the historical and physical evidence actually suggests. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Watch, share, and tell us what stood out most. Further Readings: •Neal Rappleye, “Written Upon Gold Plates” – Comparing Witness Descriptions with Artifacts from the Pre-Modern World (FAIR 2023 conference page) https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference_home/virt-2023_defending-the-bom •Josh Coates, “Plate Math: A Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates” (FAIR conference presentation/transcript) https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference_home/august-2025-fair-conference/plate-math-a-combinatorial-approach-to-modeling-all-possible-golden-plates •Sonia Hazard, “How Joseph Smith Encountered Printing Plates and Founded Mormonism” (Cambridge / Religion and American Culture) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religion-and-american-culture/article/how-joseph-smith-encountered-printing-plates-and-founded-mormonism/FA3DCD9FBDD5CA3DF335B3360DF655E5 •Neal Rappleye talk on YouTube (FAIR), “Written Upon Gold Plates” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAgzJ8MYrcw •Joseph Smith Papers, Testimony of the Three Witnesses (primary source) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-4-testimony-of-three-witnesses-late-june-1829 •Joseph Smith Papers, Testimony of the Eight Witnesses (primary source) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-5-testimony-of-eight-witnesses-late-june-1829 •Church History Topics, Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (official Church resource) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/witnesses-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng •Scripture Central, Why Did Martin Harris Somet... Chapters (00:00:00) - Could Joseph Smith Just Fabricated the Gold Plates?(00:04:22) - How to Make a Gold Plates(00:04:41) - The Printing Plates Theory(00:08:26) - The Gold Plates: Physical Requirements(00:14:08) - The Tumbaga Gold Plates(00:19:51) - How Hard Would It Be to Make Gold Plates?(00:23:15) - The Numbers of the Gold Plates(00:28:52) - The translation density of the Book of Mormon(00:30:45) - The size of the Book of Mormon characters(00:37:06) - The number of gold plates required