In 1828, Joseph Smith identified Martin Harris as the man to assist him with the translation of the golden plates, considering him to be a friend.1 With the aid of the Urim and Thummim, or sometimes a seer stone, Joseph would translate while Martin, then about 45, acted as scribe, recording what was revealed. They worked side by side at the Hale farm, often divided by a curtain for the sake of maintaining the sacredness of the plates. By June, they had produced 116 pages of translation together.2
During this time, Martin's wife Lucy expressed skepticism about Joseph's work and she pressured Martin to give her proof. This led to Martin convincing Joseph to allow him to take the first 116 pages home. Unfortunately, he lost them and he lost the privilege of working as Joseph's scribe.3 Martin Harris was not only a scribe, but also a significant benefactor to the translation project. His strong belief in the importance of the work led him to even mortgage his farm to fund the initial printing of the Book of Mormon.4
