Original sentence: Critics of the Prophet Joseph Smith have claimed that the plates may have weighed as much as two hundred pounds.Referring to the Prophet’s statement that the plates “had the appearance of gold,” some have speculated that the metal of the plates was probably tumbaga, the name given by the Spaniards to a versatile alloy of gold and copper which could “be cast, drawn, hammered, gilded, soldered, welded, plated, hardened, annealed, polished, engraved, embossed, and inlaid.Tumbaga can be treated with a simple acid like citric acid to dissolve the copper on the surface
Edited sentence: Critics of the Joseph Smith have claimed that the plates may have weighed as much as two hundred pounds.Gold was not used by any of the indigenous peoples of upstate New York and New England.No evidence of any of the tribes purported by the Book of Mormon has been found by any outside of the Mormon faith.Referring to the Smiths’ statement that the plates “had the appearance of gold,” some have speculated that the metal of the plates was probably tumbaga, the name given by the Spaniards to a versatile alloy of gold and copper which could “be cast, drawn, hammered, gilded, soldered, welded, plated, hardened, annealed, polished, engraved, embossed, and inlaid.The main criticism of the plates is doubt of the plates very existence.With the lack of any collaborating evidence, as the plates themselves were returned to a secret location, the existence of the Golden Plates remain little more than an article of faith than an actual artifact.”   Tumbaga can be treated with a simple acid like citric acid to dissolve the copper on the surface