It was December when he came to the home of his father-in-law, and for two months he worked at copying the characters from the plates to sheets of paper, and writing beneath the translation made by means of the Urim and Thummim. In February, 1828, Martin Harris came down to Pennsylvania and Joseph gave him the sheets. Martin took them to New York City to find out whether the characters would be accepted as real by learned men. He showed them first to Prof. Charles Anthon of Columbia College. Mr. Anthon examined them carefully and said that the translation was correct and the best he had ever seen of Egyptian characters. He wrote a certificate to this effect, and gave it to Martin. He asked how the young man happened to find the plates, and when Martin said that an angel had shown him where they lay, he asked for the certificate again. Martin returned it and Mr. Anthon tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing as the ministering of angels. Although Mr. Anthon was too cowardly to let his name go before the public connected with what an angel was said to have revealed, yet he would have liked to obtain worldly praise by translating the record himself, and asked Martin to bring it to him. When told that this could not be done and that part of it was sealed, he replied, "I cannot read a sealed book." If you read the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah you will find that the prophet spoke of this circumstance two thousand five hundred years ago. Martin Harris carried the characters to Dr. Mitchell, another learned man, and he also said they were genuine. This convinced Martin, and he returned to Pennsylvania. He now arranged with Joseph to become his scribe and to write at his dictation, but first it was necessary to return home that he might prepare for a long stay. He came back to Harmony about the middle of April ready to work. Joseph had very little education at this time; he could not spell so well as the ordinary school-boy can now; his time had been spent in work, and he had had few opportunities to learn. But now a book lay before him written long ago in a strange tongue and he was to translate it into English. Isaiah said that the sealed book should be given to one that was not learned, and certainly it had now been done. Joseph could not take honor to himself as the translator of it; he was only a humble instrument in the hands of God in bringing it forth.