Non-LDS Christians find evidence that records have been kept on books of metal and even gold. This evidence lends support for Joseph Smith's golden plates Book of Mormon. In the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Lehi left Jerusalem and traveled through Saudi Arabia before sailing to the Americas. He brought brass plates with him which were sacred records and later in the Book of Mormon the prophet Mormon created the record we have now upon gold plates. So basically making records out of gold plates is not a story made up by Joseph Smith but was an actual practice from the ancient world.