“The mode of procedure consisted in Joseph’s [Smith, Jr.] placing the Seer Stone in the crown of a hat, then putting his face into the hat, so as to entirely cover his face, resting his elbows upon his knees, and then dictating, word after word, while the scribe — Emma [Smith], John Whitmer, O[liver]. Cowdery, or some other, wrote it down.”
William W. Blair, Herald – 22 May 1879, “Letter to Editors” – Saints’ Herald – Volume 26, No. 12. (Plano, IL: The Saints’ Herald., 15 June 1879).