Oliver Cowdery was working as a teacher near Palmyra when he heard the story of Joseph Smith, his visions, and the golden plates. After talking with the Smith family about these things and receiving a spiritual experience, Oliver traveled to Harmony in order to offer his services as a scribe.1 He soon began to help Joseph in the translation, and nearly all of this remarkable record was translated by these two individuals.2
Joseph Smith didn't approach this task relying solely on his own comprehension or linguistic capability. Instead, he utilized a set of divine tools to aid him in this process. These instruments included the Urim and Thummim, a pair of seer stones set into a breastplate, which according to testimonies and historical documents were used in the earliest days of the translation. At other times, Joseph Smith used a separate seer stone. The translation process was unique in several aspects. One method involved Joseph Smith placing the seer stone in a hat, which served to isolate the stone and block out any surrounding light. Then, putting his face inside the hat, he would peer into the seer stone. As he did this, it's reported that he could see the translation of the ancient text, word by word. Once he saw the translation, Joseph dictated the words aloud to Oliver Cowdery. Oliver, acting as Joseph's scribe, would write down the words, thereby recording the translated text.3
They completed the translation of the Book of Mormon in Fayette, New York, on the Whitmer farm.4 The whole process took less than 90 working days.5
