1845, that God had promised to lead him to a hitherto-undiscovered chronicle of a long-lost American people. This, said Strang, would prove that he was Smith's true successor. Strang next testified that on September 1, 1845, an angel of God appeared to him and showed him the location of "the record of my people in whose possession thou dwellest." Accordingly, Strang went on September 13 to the indicated site, located in Voree, south of the White River on what is now referred to as the "Hill of Promise." He led four witnesses to a large oak on the hillside, inviting them to examine the ground around the tree carefully before digging for the plates. All four later testified that they could discern no evidence of digging or other disturbance of the ground. After removing the tree, Strang's companions dug down approximately three feet, where they discovered three small brass plates in a case of baked clay. Strang subsequently claimed to have deciphered this record, which he said was authored by an ancient Native American named "Rajah Manchou of Vorito." Appearance and dimensions The Voree plates measured approximately 2.5 inches long, and between 1.25 and 1.5 inches wide. According to one anonymous witness, these plates were "about the thickness of a piece of tin, fastened together in one corner by a ring passing through them." A second viewer described them as being "thickly covered with ancient characters of curious workmanship." Stephen Post, the brother of Strangite apostle Warren Post, visited Strang in 1850 and examined the plates for himself, noting that "they were not polished very smooth before engraving, by appearance." Unlike his brother, Stephen Post had trouble believing Strang's account of the plates' origin and discovery: "With all the faith & confidence that I could exercise," he later wrote, "all that I could realize was that Strang made the plates himself, or at least that it was possible that he made them." Post equally observed that the brass used in the Voree plates seemed indistinguishable to him from the French brass used in ordinary tea kettles. Four of the six sides of the Voree plates contained text written in an unknown script. The fifth side contained a map showing the area where the plates were found, while side one contained engravings of the "all-seeing eye" and a man holding a scepter, with the sun, moon, and stars beneath him. These