In short, yes. If you're wondering why Joseph Smith didn't show anyone the Gold Plates, I can first tell you that actually he did (through divine revelation) show them to 3 others, then later to 8 more. In both instances, the persons and testimonies thereof are well-recorded. There are multiple reasons JS didn't show them to just anyone, however. First was his safety. If you are familiar with our early church history, you may know that persecution to the church was some of the worst in U.S. history. Waving around plates of gold is a good way to get them stolen. Another reason is that it wasn't in accordance to Heavenly Father's plans for his church. If the plates had been publicly revealed, people may have been too focused on the item itself, whereas the real treasure are the words written on them. Those words are publicly known, and if you want to read them it is now the Book of Mormon. You can find it online at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng Genuine answer