Isaac Hale, Emma Smith’s father, was one of the very first people to observe Joseph Smith during the early Book of Mormon translation period. While Joseph and Emma lived in Hale’s home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, Hale saw Joseph working long before any official witnesses were called. This gave him a rare inside view of the process while it was still private and unconfirmed. Hale later said Joseph was not reading from plates in a normal way but dictating with a stone placed in a hat, often without the plates present. To Hale, this looked suspicious, and he concluded Joseph was using folk-magic practices rather than translating ancient records. Because Hale saw this before the Three and Eight Witnesses gave their formal testimonies, he believed he had already seen the truth of what Joseph was doing. His account has remained important because it comes from someone who was there at the very beginning, watching the story unfold before it became public. So why doesn't it get more attention? Ganesh Cherian joins Mormonish to dive into the important and controversial witness account of Isaac Hale.

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