Reformed Egyptian

Smith said that when this sample was presented by Smith's colleague Martin Harris to Columbia College professor Charles Anthon, a noted classical scholar, that Anthon had attested to the characters' authenticity in writing but had then ripped up his certification after hearing that the plates had been revealed by an angel.

[11] In 1844, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints published a broadside about the Book of Mormon called "The Stick of Joseph" that reprinted some "reformed Egyptian" characters that resemble those on the first three lines of the "Caractors" document.

"[15] Fifteen examples of distinct writing systems have been identified in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, many from a single inscription.

[19] Four Mormon non-linguist translators with varying levels of education have attempted to decipher the "Caractors" document.

[20] According to Brigham Young University Egyptologist John Gee, "the corpus is not large enough to render decipherment feasible.

[34] Hugh Nibley argued that a "revealed text in English" is preferable to trying to understand the original language.

Photograph of the "Caractors" document
1844 broadside with reformed Egyptian characters, "the same that was taken to Professor Anthon of New York, by Martin Harris, in the year 1827."
Reformed Egyptian characters copied by Joseph Smith's scribe, Oliver Cowdery , written in the early 1830s [ 17 ]
Reformed Egyptian characters copied by Joseph Smith's scribe, Frederick G. Williams [ 18 ]