{"id":110819,"date":"2025-06-20T19:04:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T01:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=110819"},"modified":"2025-06-20T19:06:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T01:06:49","slug":"a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html","title":{"rendered":"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rather<\/a>
Detaiil of a mural in the Government Palace in Tlalpan depicting the eruption of the Xitle volcano, by Alejandro Linares Garcia. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Interpreter Foundation\u2019s bizarre obsession with Brigham Young<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s all Brigham, all the time, right? \u2014 unabashedly continues with the Foundation\u2019s latest publications, which were made available today:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been looking forward to the appearance of this article since Josh Coates<\/a> first told me that he was working on it: \u00a0\u201cA Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Abstract:<\/strong> Historical reports containing information about the properties of the golden plates provide upper and lower bounds for calculating possible configurations of their size, weight, and material composition, as well as the possible properties of reformed Egyptian. This study employs a two-part process to analyze these configurations. First, it examines the physical properties of the plates, generating over 4 billion possible combinations. Second, it analyzes the nature of the writing on the plates, assuming the translated English text of the Book of Mormon is directly representative of the reformed Egyptian engravings. This process involves calculating and filtering combinations based on historical accounts, physical constraints, and linguistic considerations. The study demonstrates that while most configurations are unworkable, nearly one million configurations remain both physically possible and consistent with the documentary record. Key findings suggest the plates likely had less than 20% gold content, weighed more than 54 lb., contained between 187 and 259 plates, and had dimensions slightly smaller than, but within 10% of, Joseph Smith\u2019s description. The writing on the plates likely averaged less than 5 mm square, with each character representing at least three English characters, similar to Egyptian Demotic. Although there are inherent limitations in historical analysis of this kind, this mathematical approach provides a novel perspective on the physical reality of the plates.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cInterpreting Interpreter<\/em>: Combinatorial Plates,\u201d<\/a> written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This post is a summary of the article \u201cA Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates<\/a>\u201d by Josh Coates in Volume 66 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>. All of the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> articles may be seen at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/category\/summaries\/<\/a>. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter <\/em>series is available at https:\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/cGCXaR_Jf3I<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Takeaway:<\/strong> Coates provides an analysis of the physical characteristics of the gold plates as well as the script they contained, scouring the historical record to identify the plausible ranges those characteristics could\u2019ve taken. This helps him draw conclusions about the gold content, weight, dimensions, and number of plates, as well as the physical and linguistic density of Reformed Egyptian script.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And I eagerly anticipated the book-length series of articles from Matthew Roper on Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms<\/em>, of which this is the latest installment: Chapter 8: \u201cEvents in Third Nephi,\u201d<\/a> written by Matthew Roper<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> We are pleased to present chapter 8 from a book entitled <\/em>Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms. It is presented in serialized form in this volume of <\/em>Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cInterpreting Interpreter<\/em>: (Non-)Anachronisms \u2013 Cataclysmic Destruction,\u201d<\/a> written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This post is a summary of the article \u201cAnachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms \u2014 Chapter 8: Events in Third Nephi<\/a>\u201d by Matthew Roper in Volume 65 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>. All of the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> articles may be seen at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/category\/summaries\/<\/a>. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter <\/em>series is available at https:\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/DI-4GApe688<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Takeaway:<\/strong> Roper continues his examination of claimed Book of Mormon anachronisms, looking at 16 items related to the destruction and other events described in 3 Nephi. He concludes that 88% of these supposed anachronisms have received subsequent confirmation in the archaeological record, with the remaining two trending toward confirmation (destruction at the time of Christ and the night without darkness).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s a pretty good time, I think, to be involved with the completely comatose Interpreter Foundation<\/a>. \u00a0Today, here in western Missouri, our Interpreter filmmaking team \u2014 which, for this project, includes me<\/em> \u2014 worked mostly indoors at the Independence Missouri Visitors Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, although we later did a short bit of filming on a street in Independence. \u00a0It was nice to be out from under the sun and in an air-conditioned space. \u00a0The missionaries, both the younger sisters and the senior couples, were very accommodating, as was the site manager from the Church Historical Department. \u00a0(Clearly, as my anonymous critics have surmised, this project is being carried out in brazen defiance of the leaders of the Church.) \u00a0Coincidentally, for that street scene, we walked alongside the First Presbyterian Church, where young Harry Truman met Bess Wallace, the future First Lady of the United States, in a Sunday School class in 1892 when they were both young children. \u00a0(Having recently read David McCullough\u2019s admiring biography of Harry Truman, I\u2019m much more appreciative of such places than I would have been a year ago.) \u00a0Afterwards, everybody except me worked on some voiceovers. \u00a0I haven\u2019t been getting enough sleep on this trip, so it was wonderful to have a little time for a short nap.<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/a>
\u201cEmma Smith, the Elect Lady,\u201d by Theodore S. Gorka. \u00a0Emma is shown tending the sick following the Latter-day Saint exodus from Missouri. In the background, in the upper left, the Prophet Joseph carries one of the sick toward her. \u00a0(LDS Media Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had left some time tomorrow (Saturday) for any needed footage that we might not have acquired by the end of the day today. \u00a0But we\u2019ve worked fairly efficiently, and all that remains for tomorrow is recording some B-roll. \u00a0So, as has become traditional at the end of these expeditions, we celebrated this evening with pizza and a \u201cmovie night.\u201d \u00a0(Everybody in this group has a strong interest in cinema. \u00a0Who would have thought it?) \u00a0Our director, Mark Goodman, recommended a 2016 Irish film that he had seen a while ago during a long airline flight: \u00a0Sing Street<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0I enjoyed it, though it contained a little bit of language that he probably didn\u2019t encounter when he was watching it on a commercial airliner.<\/p>\n

Posted from Independence, Missouri<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 The Interpreter Foundation\u2019s bizarre obsession with Brigham Young \u2014 it\u2019s all Brigham, all the time, right? \u2014 unabashedly continues with the Foundation\u2019s latest publications, which were made available today: I\u2019ve been looking forward to the appearance of this article since Josh Coates first told me that he was working on it: \u00a0\u201cA Combinatorial Approach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":86542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38858,56,8520,38861,1353,1615],"class_list":["post-110819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-3-naphi","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-catastrophe","tag-combinatorial","tag-destruction","tag-plates"],"yoast_head":"\nA Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-21T01:04:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-21T01:06:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/07\/800px-XitleEruptionMuralGovPalaceTlalpan-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html\",\"name\":\"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-21T01:04:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-21T01:06:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.","description":"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.","og_description":"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2025-06-21T01:04:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-21T01:06:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":515,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/07\/800px-XitleEruptionMuralGovPalaceTlalpan-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html","name":"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-21T01:04:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-21T01:06:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"  The Interpreter Foundation's bizarre obsession with Brigham Young -- it's all Brigham, all the time, right? -- unabashedly continues with the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2025\/06\/a-combinatorial-approach-to-the-golden-plates-etc.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Combinatorial Approach to the Golden Plates, etc."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}