I staid in Richmond two days and
nights. I had a great deal of talk with widow Cowdry, and her amiable daughter.
She is married to a Dr Johnson, but has no children. She gave me a certificate,
And this is the copy. “Richmond, Ray Co., Mo. Feb 15, 1870—I cheerfully certify
that I was familiar with the manner of Joseph Smith's translating the book of
Mormon. He translated the most of it at my Father's house. And I often sat by
and saw and heard them translate and write for hours together. Joseph never had
a curtain drawn between him and his scribes while he was translating. He would
place the director in his hat, and then place [-] his <face in
his> hat, so as to exclude the light, and then [read?] to his scribe the
words (he said) as they appeared before him. . . . (Elizabeth Ann Whitmer,
"Elizabeth Ann Whitmer Cowdery Affidavit, 15 February 1870," repr. Early
Mormon Documents, ed. Dan Vogel, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Signature Books,
2003], 5:260)
