NO OTHERNESS

Abstract

This paper reevaluates two foundational artifacts of early Mormonism—the Anthon Transcript and the Stick of Joseph broadside—through the lens of classical cryptography and historical documentary analysis. Both artifacts are claimed to represent samples of “reformed Egyptian,” the script allegedly written on the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.

Using structured transposition cipher models and statistical validation (Index of Coincidence \~0.058–0.060, entropy \~3.3–3.4 bits/token, Chi-Square \~13–14), we find that these artifacts are not remnants of an ancient script, but are constructed ciphertexts that encode promotional plaintexts aligned with early Mormon theology. 

The Anthon Transcript reduces to “BEHOLD THE RECORD OF NEPHI AND HIS PEOPLE IN THE LAND OF GOD”, and the Stick of Joseph broadside yields “THE STICK OF JOSEPH NEPHI AND GOD”. Historical analysis also supports a 19th-century origin, pointing to Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, or their associates as the likely authors, with the intent reinforcing the credibility of the Book of Mormon during a period of heightened religious innovation and antiquarian interest.

Introduction

The Anthon Transcript and the Stick of Joseph are key documents in Mormon origin narratives. Both are linked to Joseph Smith’s claim of translating golden plates inscribed with mysterious characters—”reformed Egyptian”—into what became the Book of Mormon. Some religious believers regard these texts as fragments of a lost ancient language, but critics have long suspected they were fabrications. This paper explores the hypothesis that both documents are deliberately constructed transposition ciphers rather than genuine epigraphic samples. We combine cryptographic analysis, statistical validation, and historical sourcing to test this proposal.

Background and Provenance

1. The Anthon Transcript

Reportedly copied from the golden plates by Joseph Smith and given to Martin Harris in 1828, the Anthon Transcript was shown to Columbia professor Charles Anthon in an attempt to validate the characters. Although Mormon tradition claims Anthon affirmed their authenticity before retracting upon learning of their provenance, Anthon himself denied this, describing the document as a fraud or a hoax \[1]\[2]\[3]. Notably, the only surviving candidate for this transcript—the so-called “Caractors Document”—is dated to 1829–1831, after Anthon’s visit, which raises doubts about its authenticity as a contemporaneous sample.

2. The Stick of Joseph Broadside

Published by Oliver Cowdery in 1844, this broadside featured a second sample of glyphs and explicitly tied the script to Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezekiel 37:15–20) of the “stick of Joseph” and “stick of Judah.” It served as a promotional tool for the Book of Mormon, printed in gold ink on black paper for dramatic effect \[4]. No parallels to known ancient writing systems have been found among these glyphs \[4]\[9].

Methodology

1. Cryptographic Framework

We applied classical transposition cipher techniques, assuming simple rectangular grid patterns with column-fill and row-read (and vice versa) permutations:

* Anthon Transcript: Modeled as a 10×9 grid (90 glyphs) with 31 “X” padding characters to complete the grid. Resulting plaintext:

  “BEHOLD THE RECORD OF NEPHI AND HIS PEOPLE IN THE LAND OF GOD”

* Stick of Joseph Broadside: Modeled as an 8×8 grid (64 glyphs) with 24 “X” paddings. Resulting plaintext:

  “THE STICK OF JOSEPH NEPHI AND GOD”

  (Trimmed to 58 visible glyphs in the printed broadside).

Alternative grid permutations (e.g., 9×10, 6×10) were tested, but produced either less coherent plaintexts or required more complex assumptions.

2. Statistical Validation

Each decryption was assessed using standard cryptanalytic tools:

* Index of Coincidence (IC): \~0.058–0.060 (comparable to English, \~0.066).

* Shannon Entropy: \~3.3–3.4 bits/token, consistent with natural short English texts.

* Chi-Square (χ²): \~13–14 against expected English letter frequencies.

* CI Score: Composite Inference score incorporating Bayesian priors and observed letter patterns (CI \~86–88).

These values contrast starkly with what would be expected from random symbol strings (\~IC = 0.0385) or unknown natural scripts.

Historical and Linguistic Considerations

1. No External Evidence for “Reformed Egyptian”

There is no attested linguistic, epigraphic, or archaeological evidence for a script known as “reformed Egyptian” outside of Mormon texts. All known glyph samples originate from Smith, Cowdery, or close associates. Attempts to link the script to ancient Semitic or Egyptian systems have been uniformly rejected by mainstream scholars \[1]\[2]\[4]\[9].

2. Constructed Glyph Systems

Analysis of the glyphs, including negative imaging and comparison with ancient scripts, reveals no structural alignment with known writing systems. Instead, the symbols appear ad hoc, repetitive, and consistent with a manually constructed cipher or pseudo-script \[4]\[6]\[9].

3. Promotion and Thematic Messaging

The decrypted texts contain explicit Book of Mormon motifs:

* “Behold,” used \~300 times in the scripture.

* References to “Nephi” and “Joseph,” central figures in the LDS narrative.

* Evocations of divine authority and fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

This thematic alignment supports the hypothesis that the documents were created to promote and legitimize the Mormon movement.

Counterclaims and Apologetics

Faith-based defenses often cite the possibility of multiple versions of the transcript, misinterpretation by Anthon, or speculative ties to ancient writing systems. However, none of these theories have been substantiated by independent linguistic or archaeological evidence. The lack of consistent glyph-to-phoneme mapping, absence of contextual usage, and reliance on circular internal validation further weaken such claims.

Discussion

The cipher hypothesis explains several key features:

* Structural Regularity: Grid alignment and padding are typical of classical ciphers.

* Statistical Englishness: Non-randomness and close alignment with English frequency patterns.

* Lack of Antiquity: Absence of external linguistic parallels.

* Promotional Fit: Texts function as affirmations of Mormon theology, not neutral records.

These artifacts likely served to enhance the legitimacy of Joseph Smith’s narrative during a time when ancient manuscripts, lost tribes, and biblical restorationism captivated the public imagination.

Conclusion

The Anthon Transcript and the Stick of Joseph broadside are best described as cryptographic constructs. The cipher-like properties, linguistic patterns, and theological messaging suggest fabrication by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, or associates, to bolster the Book of Mormon’s perceived authenticity. Absolute confirmation of intent awaits discovery of original keys or corroborating testimony, but the preponderance of evidence—historical, statistical, and cryptographic—strongly supports the conclusion of intentional construction rather than divine translation or ancient transmission.

References

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