Joseph Smith's Own Account of The Authorship of The Book of Mormon
See also: Golden PlatesAccording to the accounts of Joseph Smith and his associates, the original record was engraved on thin, malleable sheets of metal with the appearance of gold and bound with three rings at one edge. The leaves were engraved on both sides with considerable skill. According to the account presented in the book, the prophet-historian named "Mormon" abridged the records of the local civilizations from the preceding thousand years. Mormon then delivered the account to his son, Moroni, who added a few words of his own and concealed the plates about AD 400. At the end of Moroni's ministry (approximately AD 421), he placed these plates along with several other items in a stone box in a hillside (now named the Hill Cumorah) near Palmyra, New York.
On September 21, 1823, this same Moroni, then a resurrected being, appeared to Joseph Smith Jr. to instruct him about this ancient record and its destined translation into the English language. Smith was shown the location of the plates (including the other items in the box), but was not immediately allowed to take them. This is possibly because he may have had thoughts of using them to get gain for his financially struggling family. After four years of meeting with the angel and being instructed, he was finally entrusted with the plates. Through the power of God and the Urim and Thummim, which were ancient seeing stones hidden along with the plates, he was able to translate the characters (which, according to the Book of Mormon, were related to 600 BC Egyptian with Hebrew influence) into English.
Joseph Smith was commanded to show the plates to several people and no one else. Accounts by these individuals are recorded in the front of the Book of Mormon as "The Testimony of the Three Witnesses" and "The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses."
Additionally, Joseph Smith taught, and most Mormons believe, that the provenance of the Book of Mormon was prophesied by Biblical scripture. These interpretations are largely disputed by adherents of other faiths.
The golden plates were commonly referred to as a "Golden Bible," particularly by non-Mormons, though a few church members also used the term in early descriptions. The label "Golden Bible" actually predates the Book of Mormon, as legends of such an artifact existed in Canada and upstate New York while Joseph Smith was growing up in Vermont.
Read more about this topic: Origin Of The Book Of Mormon
Famous quotes containing the words smith, account, authorship, book and/or mormon:
“There are people who, like houses, are beautiful in dilapidation.”
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946)
“All that seems indispensible in stating the account between the dead and the living, is to see that the debts against the latter do not exceed the advances made by the former.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“The Bible is good enough for me, just the old book under which I was brought up. I do not want notes or criticisms, or explanations about authorship or origins, or even cross- references. I do not need, or understand them, and they confuse me.”
—Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)
“Some hard and dry book in a dead language, which you have found it impossible to read at home, but for which you still have a lingering regard, is the best to carry with you on a journey.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“If you excommunicate one of us there will be 10 more to step up and take her place. Excommunicate those 10 and there will be 100 to take their places.”
—Lynn Knavel Whitesides, U.S. Mormon feminist. As quoted in the New York Times, p. 7 (October 2, 1993)