Lucy Harris (May 1, 1792–1836) was the wife of Martin Harris, and an early skeptic of the translation of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Biography Early life Lucy Harris was born on May 1, 1792, at Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island. She was the daughter of Rufus Harris and Lucy Hill, who were affiliated with but not members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). She married Martin Harris on March 27, 1808, in Palmyra, New York. She had become partially deaf by the year 1827. Harris and the Book of Mormon Early on during the translation of the Book of Mormon, Harris became frustrated with her husband and skeptical of Joseph Smith, because of how much Martin was helping Smith with the translation effort. She questioned Smith personally about the plates and demanded to see them. He told her, "he was not permitted to exhibit them to any one except those whom the Lord should appoint to testify of them." This did not resolve her concern and she persisted in demanding to see the plates. In order to convince Lucy that they were translating an ancient book of scripture, Martin Harris asked Smith to instead let him borrow the first 116 pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon. Smith said that these pages of the translation of the Book of Mormon were a translation from the Book of Lehi. At Harris's insistence (and despite Smith saying he was warned not to by the Lord), Smith reluctantly loaned the pages to Harris. The manuscript was subsequently lost, and a variety of theories as to its disappearance have arisen. Some Mormons believe that Lucy hid them from Smith after they had been altered, or that they were given to friends, otherwise disposed of in some way, or that they were stolen from the Harrises' house. When Martin Harris approached Smith and told him what happened, Smith became angry with himself for not heeding "the Lord's admonition" not to loan the manuscript to Harris and left to go and pray. Subsequently, Smith lost the ability to translate "for a season" while he went through a "repentance process." Ultimately, Smith claimed to receive a revelation wherein he was instructed not to retranslate the portion of the golden plates the 116 pages were taken from "because wicked men had stolen the pages and altered them, hoping to discredit Smith when he