Though the Eight Witnesses did not refer, like the Three, to an angel or the voice of God, they said that they had hefted the plates and seen the engravings on them . After the experiences of the twelve witnesses, Smith continued the translation at the Whitmer home in Fayette . On June 26, 1829, E.B. Grandin published in "The Wayne Sentinel" a copy of the Book of Mormon title page Smith had given him earlier, and offered it to his readers as a "curiosity", stating that "[m]ost people entertain an idea that the whole matter is the result of a gross imposition, and a grosser superstition" . Possibly because of this article and Smith's growing notoriety, the late stages of Smith's translation were interrupted periodically with curious visitors . Translation was completed around July 1, 1829 , after which Smith reportedly returned the plates to the angel . Smith's first attempt at arranging publication of the Book of Mormon with E.B. Grandin was unsuccessful. Harris had also unsuccessfully approached Jonathan A. Hadley, another Palmyra printer who published the anti-Masonic "Palmyra Freeman" . Smith and Harris also traveled to Rochester, New York and approached Thurlow Weed, an anti-Masonic publisher who, like Grandin and Hadley in Palmyra, also refused to publish the book, even though Harris offered his farm as security (; ). Smith next approached Weed's competitor in Rochester, Elihu F. Marshall, who agreed to publish the book (; ). With Marshall's offer in hand, Smith and Harris then approached Grandin a second time, hoping for a better offer that wouldn't require travel to Rochester . Negotiations with Grandin continued from July to August 1829. On August 25, 1829, Grandin entered into a secured transaction, using Harris's land as collateral , to print 5,000 copies of the book for $3,000 (; ), to be paid within 18 months after printing began . Half the sum was to be paid by Harris, and the other half was to be paid by Smith and his brother Hyrum . While Smith was attempting to arrange for publication during July and August 1829, several area newspapers ran harshly critical articles on the Book of Mormon, and reprinted the title page published on June 26, 1829, in "The Wayne Sentinel" . This began with a "Palmyra Freeman" article written by Jonathan A. Hadley . Between August and October 1829, the Hadley article was reprinted in Lockport, New York , Rochester, New York , Painesville, Ohio , and Salem, Massachusetts .