Commenting on the evidence for other Book of Mormon figures apart from Moroni visiting the young Prophet Joseph Smith, LDS author Trevan Hatch wrote:
[I]t is worth noting that Moroni was not the only prophet to teach and assist Joseph Smith in his work with the translation of the plates; several other Book of Mormon prophets may have assisted Joseph as well. Wilford Woodruff explained that Joseph translated the plates “according to the dictation of Moroni, Nephi, and Lehi, the angels of God who administered to him” (JOD 16:266). John Taylor also spoke of the assistance of Book of Mormon prophets in the early days of the Restoration: “when Joseph Smith was raised up as a Prophet of God, Mormon, Moroni, Nephi and others of the ancient Prophets who formerly lived on this Continent . . . came to him and communicated to him certain principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God. Why? Because they held the keys of the various dispensations and conferred them upon him” (JOD 17:374). Brigham Young said that Alma was among those prophets who appeared to Joseph in the early days of the Restoration (JOD 13:47).
At least two individuals recorded that a “Nephite” visited the Prophet Joseph. One of these individuals was Helen M. Whitney: “In another letter I find an interesting item concerning the Prophet Joseph’s receiving a visit from one of the Nephites who told him he had been through England, Ireland, and that the work of the Lord would be short and powerful in those places. He also told him many things about this land (America), many of which have been fulfilled (Helen Mar Whitney, A Woman’s View: Helen Mar Whitney’s Reminiscences of Early Church History, ed. Jeni Broberg Holzapel and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel [Provo: Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1997], p. 173). Heber C. Kimball’s wife, Vilate, similarly explained that Joseph received “a visit from one of the Nephites” and that he became aware of things that would shortly transpire in America and in the British Isles (Women’s Exponent, 10, no. 18, February 15, 1882, 138). We do not know the identity of this Nephite, but Helen and Vilate likely could have been referring to Moroni or one of the Three Nephites. (Trevan G. Hatch, When the Lights Came On: Joseph Smith and the Return of Heavenly Manifestations [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2016], 75-6)
