If there had been collusion between Joseph Smith and the witnesses, then of necessity they would have had to hold together and tell the same story. A disagreement on the part of any, or all of them, would have meant destruction to their plan, if it were not true. The boldness with which Joseph Smith and the Church met the situation, when these men rebelled, and took action against them and severed them from the Church, would never have been done if there had been fraud and collusion. The Prophet and the high council would not have dared to do it. This fact together with the other fact that after they were severed from the Church and had become estranged, they all three bore the same testimony, and all told the same story which they told when in the Church, precludes even the remotest possibility that they had planned together to deceive. These truths together with much more evidence which cannot be mentioned here, is strong presumptive evidence of the authenticity of the solemn message given by these witnesses to the world. The Angel Receives the Plates After the completion of the translation of the Book of Mormon in 1829, the angel again appeared to Joseph Smith and received back the plates into his keeping. Of this circumstance the Prophet wrote in 1838: "By the wisdom of God, they [the plates] remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangement, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him, and he has them in his charge until this day." The Book of Mormon Printed The question of printing the manuscript now confronted Joseph Smith. Not only was he without the necessary means, but printers were scarce and those who were approached were either prejudiced through bigotry, or unwilling for fear of the opposition of customers. Martin Harris, who possessed the means, came to the rescue with a promise to pay for the printing of the book. Finally a contract was entered into with Mr. Egbert B. Grandin, of Palmyra, who consented to print five thousand copies of the Book of Mormon for three thousand dollars. In the meantime the copyright to the book had been secured. The appearance of the words "Author and Proprietor" which appear on the title page of the first edition of the Book of Mormon, have caused some ridicule by enemies of Joseph Smith. This expression was printed in the book in accord with the law governing copyrights, and in no way detracts from the validity of the story of the translation of the record.