I’m premiering my new video today, 3 July 2026, at 6:00 pm Mountain Time. This video argues that several “Adamic” or “pure language” characters associated with W. W. Phelps and Joseph Smith’s 1835 Egyptian Alphabet project are more plausibly connected to early modern shorthand traditions than to the Masonic/pigpen cipher proposed by William Schryver.
This photo is a Mormon document in Oliver Cowdery's handwriting dating to Circa 1829. It is purported to be characters from the golden plates containing "Reformed Egyptian," or "shorthand Egyptian." I have found that the first character on the left matches BK, or "book," in Pitman's 1837 edition. Too late, of course. The second character could be MNMR, a slight modification of "Mormon." It is possible these characters are modified to disguise them. Pitman's 1837 edition used the upward arch for M, downward arch for N, and forward slash for R, which follows the Byrom-related alphabet. I bring this here to tap the best minds on the subject. Any ideas or responses would be appreciated.
Premiering Monday, 4 May 2026, at 3:00 pm Mountain Time, “On the Issue of Joseph Smith’s Childless Plural Wives” by Dan Vogel. See you there.
This video responds to the common argument from polygamy skeptics that Joseph Smith's lack of offspring with his plural wives proves he did not practice polygamy. To thoroughly examine this assertion, the video presents an in-depth analysis of the fertility profiles of the thirty-five documented wives of Joseph Smith, focusing on those most likely to conceive during that period. Although it was possible for some of the women to become pregnant by Joseph Smith, their individual circumstances and fertility histories offer plausible reasons why they may not have conceived or given birth to a child fathered by Smith.