“Where are the [brass] plates now? There is no firm information about where the plates are now. One might suppose that they are in divine custody, along with the gold plates which Joseph Smith had, in a cavern inside the Hill Cumorah, as described by Brigham Young, quoting Oliver Cowdery (Journal of Discourses 19:39). According to Cowdery, the cavern contained ‘many wagon loads’ of plates, as well as the Sword of Laban. James J. Strang, who claimed to be the legitimate successor of Joseph Smith, claimed to have translated passages from the ‘Plates of Laban’ and included them in his scripture Book of the Law of the Lord. Witnesses testified they had examined the plates and described them in detail. The present whereabouts of these plates is unknown.”

Richard Packham, packham.n4m.org/brassplates.htm