In the days to follow, plans were made to translate the golden plates. Several personal accounts exist concerning this time, and most of them express exasperation at not seeing the plates.[34] Over a period of three months, Joseph would place the spectacles inside a hat and “read” from the plates which were hidden somewhere in the forest. He dictated the contents to a scribe, who would record the translation. Part of the criterion for diagnosing schizophrenia is that continuous signs present themselves for a period of six months with at least one primary symptom presenting for a least a month.[35] Joseph Smith’s three month marathon translation of the plates certainly fits this criterion. In addition, there has been a scientific link between schizophrenia and heightened states of creativity.[36]

There are several suspect facts concerning the actual translation of the plates. First, the content reflects his earlier stories that he told his family, based on the local legends and speculation concerning the Hopewell Indians. Here we see them repeated and expanded.

There is also the hoax of the Kinderhook plates. In 1843 a set of brass plates were created by Robert Wiley and Bridge Whitton in order to trick Joseph Smith. After forging the plates, they used a wax template and acid to create the fake character engravings. They buried them, and then retrieved them in the presence of two Mormon elders. The hoax was a success. Upon seeing the plates, Joseph Smith declared them to be the history of Ham son of Noah.[37]

Another false translation occurred in relation to the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. Joseph obtained an Egyptian mummy in 1835, and with it was found ancient papyri. Joseph initially tried to translate the text in earnest,[38] but was unable to because the Rosetta Stone hadn’t been translated and an Egyptian primer would not be made for several years after Joseph supposedly translated the papyri. In 1967, years after Joseph’s death, the papyri was rediscovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Mormon scholars authenticated them as the same which Joseph translated. Photographs of the papyri were sent to Egyptologists for translation. What the fragments contained was the Book of Breathings, a standard Egyptian funeral text. [39]

The accounts of the Kinderhook plates and the Egyptian papyri give serious doubt to Joseph Smith’s legitimate ability to translate by divine inspiration. If he falsely translated in these two instances, the translation of the golden plates enters into serious suspicion. What seems to be clear is that Joseph actually believed he was translating through divine inspiration. This sort of delusion falls nicely into the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Another clue to Joseph’s mental health can be found by examining his family history. Genetics play a large part in the development of the illness.[40] Surveying Joseph’s family history, we see several things. Joseph’s maternal grandfather recorded in his autobiography that he experienced several visions leading up to his conversion to Christianity.[41] Lucy Smith records in her Biographical Sketches seven visions had by Joseph Smith, Sr[42] and a vision had by herself.[43] It is also said that Lucy was very superstitious and would create wild tales so convincing that one might think she believed them herself.[44] Finally, David Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s youngest son, was institutionalized at the age of thirty-two with symptoms described as depression, confusion, and violence.[45] With four generations in consideration, the last having the benefit of some form of clinical analysis, a genetic pattern of psychosis emerges in the Smith family.

One can never be sure if Joseph Smith, Jr. suffered from a high-functioning form of schizophrenia without a modern psychological analysis and diagnosis. However, the clues are highly suggestive of the illness, and if not schizophrenia one of the related and often misdiagnosed mental illnesses. In review of the facts, we see that Joseph Smith had an early vision at around age fifteen and a major experience at the age of twenty-one. He was totally convinced of the legitimacy of his experiences. Both of these experiences reflect familiar stories and anxieties he had at the time, of religion, pirate lore, and Indian legends. Prior to the major event at age twenty-one, Joseph exhibited a social dynamic change by presenting himself as a mystical treasure hunter above his friends. This he admitted to being fraudulent. During the major event, Joseph used names connected to the stories of the pirate Captain Kidd. He also claimed to be attacked during his major event, and showed signs of extreme paranoia. In the months to follow, Joseph demonstrated a sudden onset of heightened creativity. Later in life, two instances would show that Joseph’s translation ability by divine inspiration to be false. There are no verifiable witnesses to say they saw the plates at this time, and later claims to see them are questionable. There is also family history evident, in that Joseph’s maternal grandfather claimed to have a vision, Joseph’s father had several visions, Joseph’s mother not only had a vision but also exhibited a tendency to create false realties, and Joseph’s youngest son was institutionalized for psychosis at the age of thirty-two.

Each step in Joseph Smith’s revelation experience fits into the symptoms of schizophrenia. There are too many coincidences surrounding Joseph’s revelation experience that are suspect. Add to this the two instances of false translation, and Joseph begins to appear as completely fraudulent. However, being a fraud does not answer the question of why he would put himself and his family through so much persecution with so little gain, unless he was completely convinced he was telling the truth. The only thing that remains is to consider some form of psychosis. Several symptoms of schizophrenia are missing from the stories of Joseph Smith, Jr., but they are not necessary to a high-functioning form of the disease. Schizophrenia may not be the only possible diagnosis, but it is certainly a convincing plausibility and should be taken seriously.

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