The Kinderhook Plates controversy is one of the clearest examples of why Joseph Smith was not a true prophet of God. In 1843, Wilbur Fugate forged a collection of six brass plates known as the Kinderhook Plates to prove that Smith was a fraud and had no ability to translate ancient languages. The plates were then hidden in an ancient Native American burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois which was then dug up by Robert Wiley who was also in on the hoax. The plates were then taken to Smith to be translated. Smith fell for the hoax proving that he was lying about his ability to translate ancient languages.
We know that the plates are a hoax, not only because of the later testimony of Fugate and Wiley, but also because one of them was rediscovered in the Chicago Historical Society Museum and tested by the LDS Church which confirmed that the plate was created in the nineteenth century and not of ancient origin. Mormon apologists respond by claiming that Smith never fell for the plates because he never made an official translation of them.
But Smith himself claimed that they were authentic and told the story of a descendant of Pharaoh:
“I insert fac-similes of the six brass plates found near Kinderhook, in Pike county, Illinois, on April 23, by Mr. Robert Wiley and others, while excavating a large mound. They found a skeleton about six feet from the surface of the earth, which must have stood nine feet high. The plates were found on the breast of the skeleton and were covered on both sides with ancient characters. I have translated a portion of them, and find they contain the history of the person with whom they were found. He was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the Ruler of heaven and earth” (History of the Church, vol. 5, page 372).
For more information on the subject, see this article.
James Attebury 