Joseph Smith claimed they were indigenous artifacts because in mormon "lore" indigenous North Americans are supposed to be the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. But as far I know he never actually showed the tablets to anyone, and when some experts showed up to actually have a look at this artifact that he claimed to have found, he just told them that they were gone because they were taken back to heaven.
They're probably just "replicas" going off of Joseph Smith's description. As far as I know, no one ever found indigenous tablets of this kind, so it was probably something he made up entirely.
I responded to a commenter like you in PMs, except they just made it super duper clear that they were exmormons. The people in my area definitely believe that the tablets are real, however I also live in one of the only areas in the US that has a distinct flavor of Mormonism.
Joseph Smith claimed they were indigenous artifacts because in mormon "lore" indigenous North Americans are supposed to be the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. But as far I know he never actually showed the tablets to anyone, and when some experts showed up to actually have a look at this artifact that he claimed to have found, he just told them that they were gone because they were taken back to heaven.
With what other people have said in this thread, I assume the tablets around here are something that the Mormons stole to keep the ruse up.
They're probably just "replicas" going off of Joseph Smith's description. As far as I know, no one ever found indigenous tablets of this kind, so it was probably something he made up entirely.
I responded to a commenter like you in PMs, except they just made it super duper clear that they were exmormons. The people in my area definitely believe that the tablets are real, however I also live in one of the only areas in the US that has a distinct flavor of Mormonism.