Recreating the Book of Mormon Plates with Trent Told | Ep. 1388

Could Joseph Smith Have Made the Book of Mormon Plates Himself?

The Book of Mormon plates have long been treated as self-evidently miraculous: ancient metal records too heavy to fake, too complex to fabricate, and too real for witnesses to dismiss. But a 2021 episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast (Episode 1388) introduced a quietly unsettling data point. An HVAC technician named Trent Told sat down with host John Dehlin and described how he built a functional replica of the Book of Mormon plates in roughly two hours using scrap metal from his shop.

Two hours. That detail deserves a moment to sit with the reader.

Background: What the Historical Record Says About the Plates

The testimony surrounding the golden plates is actually more varied than Sunday School lessons tend to suggest. Multiple witnesses said they hefted the plates, felt their weight through a cloth covering, or saw something wrapped in fabric that Joseph Smith carried. A smaller number, the Three and Eight Witnesses, claimed direct contact or visual confirmation.

The traditional account holds that the plates were made of gold or a gold alloy, measured approximately six inches wide by eight inches long, and stood roughly six inches tall. Joseph Smith reportedly ran through dark forests while carrying them, wrestled men who tried to take them, and kept them hidden for months. These details have always been offered as evidence of the plates' physical reality.