Discovery
According to Latter Day Saint beliefs, many ancient inhabitants of the Americas engraved records on metal plates. Joseph Smith, Jr., the movement's founding prophet, claimed that he translated the Book of Mormon from a set of Golden Plates which he was shown the location of by an Angel. Upon Smith's murder in 1844, a number of claimants came forward to lead his church, including James J. Strang. As a recent convert, Strang did not possess the name recognition among rank-and-file Mormons enjoyed by Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon (two other contenders for church leadership). Hence, he faced an uphill battle in his quest to be recognized as the heir to Smith's prophetic mantle.
To advance his cause, Strang asserted that unlike Rigdon and Young, he had hard evidence of his prophetic calling. Joseph's title had been "Prophet, Seer, Revelator and Translator," and Strang wished to substantiate his claim to succession by following in Smith's footsteps. So, while Young and Rigdon never offered their followers any newly-revealed ancient records, Strang announced on January 17, 1845 that God had promised to lead him to a hitherto-undiscovered chronicle of a long-lost American people. This, said he, would prove that he was Joseph Smith's true successor.
Strang next testified that on September 1, 1845, an angel of God appeared to him and showed him the location of "the record of my people in whose possession thou dwellest." Accordingly, Strang went on September 13 to the indicated site, located in Voree south of the White River on what is now referred to as the "Hill of Promise." He led four witnesses to a large oak on the hillside, inviting them to examine the ground around the tree carefully before digging for the plates. All four later testified that they could discern no evidence of digging or other disturbance of the ground.
After removing the tree, Strang's companions dug down approximately three feet, where they discovered three small brass plates in a case of baked clay. Strang subsequently claimed to have deciphered this record, which he said was authored by an ancient Native American named "Rajah Manchou of Vorito."
Read more about this topic: Voree Plates
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