Yes, according to official Church history and contemporary eyewitness accounts, Joseph Smith placed his face into a hat to block out extraneous light while translating the Book of Mormon. This method is documented in official Church sources that compile statements from Joseph Smith, his scribes, and others closely associated with the translation. While Joseph himself referred to using the "interpreters" (Urim and Thummim) and a seer stone, the specific detail of using a hat to exclude ambient light comes from accounts provided by those who observed the process, particularly his scribes Oliver
Yes. Multiple firsthand witnesses, including Joseph Smith's scribes and his wife Emma, testified that he placed a seer stone into a hat, pressed his face into the opening to exclude light, and dictated the Book of Mormon text. These accounts are not hostile claims but come from believers who participated in the translation. The most detailed descriptions come from Emma Smith Bidamon, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. In an 1879 interview with her son Joseph Smith III, Emma stated that Joseph “could not see without the seer stone” and that he “used a stone called a seer stone … placing it in a