NOM

I have been impressed with this research by Eldon Watson: eldonwatson.net/BoMhtm (or google Eldon Watson Book of Mormon) It's a well conceived BOM translation timeline that shows that it's very likely that much or all of the book of Mosiah was translated before Oliver Cowdery arrived in Harmony. Much of it is guesstimation, based on 2-3 chapters per day, but it makes a lot of sense, and coordinates with things like the May 15th baptism, the June 1st move to the Whitmers home in Fayette, etc. It also shows that the purported 60-75 day translation timeline is less likely than a Feb.-June timeline.

A fascinating thing that leaps out right away is that Joseph was negotiating a treasure hunting contract AT THE SAME TIME the angel gave him the gold plates. Why should we assume that one of those endeavors was more legitimate than the other?