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Get to Know Joseph Part 10: “I Cannot Read a Sealed Book”

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Once Joseph and Emma Smith arrived in Pennsylvania the translation of the plates commenced.  Joseph began by copying characters from the gold plates then he used the Urim and Thummim to translate the characters.  The Urim and Thummim are made up of two parts.  The first is what we could consider eyeglasses.  The second was a breastplate to which the glasses were attached. The Urim and Thummim were deposited in the stone box with the plates.

Martin Harris soon visited Joseph and arranged to take a copy of the characters to New York City to get verification of the authenticity of ancient characters.  Martin relates his experience:

I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments.  Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he ahd before seen traslated from the Egyptian.  I then showed him those which were net yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters.  He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct.  I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them.  I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.

He then said to me, “Let me see that certificate.”  I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as minstering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them.  I informed himthat part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them.  He replied, “I cannot read a sealed book.”  I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation. (Joseph Smith–History 1:64-65)

Prophecy Fulfilled!

What Martin Harris may not have realized at that time was that he had been a character in a revelation given by Isaiah:

11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:

12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.   (Isaiah 29:11-12)

Martin Harris was convinced of the validity of the translation of the plates and began assisting Joseph Smith in the translation.

Continue reading in Get to Know Joseph Part 11: Pages Lost, Power to Translate Lost

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Get to Know Joseph Part 9: Transporting the Plates to Pennsylvania

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Once it was known that Joseph Smith had the plates, the persecution became unbearable.  Joseph and Emma determined to leave Manchester and move to Susquehanna county in Pennsylvania.  Joseph and Emma were very poor and couldn’t afford to make the move.  Fortunately, they were rescued by a fifty dollar gift from a farmer by the name of Martin Harris.

Traveling would prove to be a problem for Joseph and his wife.  Though people claimed to not believe that Joseph had the gold plates, they were certainly anxious to get their hands on them.  Joseph put the plates in a wood box then put it into the bottom of a cask which he filled with beans.  A mob of fifty men gathered together determined to take the plates.  When the mob approached Dr. McIntyre to be their leader, he called them a pack of devilish fools and told them to go home.  The mob fell apart after quarreling about who would then become their leader.

Joseph would experience other difficulties during his trip.  Joseph was stopped by an officer who presented Joseph with a search warrant.  The officer thought he could get the plates, but went away disappointed when his search came up empty.

It would be a pleasant ride in the countryside for Joseph and Emma if they were able to make it to Pennsylvania without being accosted but that was not to be.  Joseph was stopped a third time by another officer who meticulously ransacked the Smiths’ wagon and wasn’t able to find the plates.

After those attempts to steal the plates the Smiths arrived in Pennsylvania and Joseph quickly began the translation of the plates.

Continue reading in Part 10

Image Credit: Dallas Golden

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Get to Know Joseph Part 8: Joseph Receives the Plates

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The time finally arrived for Joseph to take possession of the plates.  It was known that Joseph would be receiving the plates, so in the early hours of September 22, 1827, Joseph went to the Hill Cumorah to receive the plates.  Emma accompanied Joseph and waited in the wagon for Joseph while he climbed the hill.

At the location of the plates the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph and gave him another warning, he said, “You will have to be watchful and faithful to your trust or you will be overpowered by wicked men, for they will lay every plan and scheme that is possible to get them away from you. And if you do not take heed continually, they will succeed.” (Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–45, book 6, [1])

Joseph had tried to get hold of a lockbox before he retrieved the plates but was unsuccessful, so before Joseph returned home with the plates he hid the plates in a hollowed-out log until he could find a box to store the plates.

Back at the Smith home, Lucy was fretting over Joseph’s task as she served breakfast to Joseph Sr., Joseph Knight, and Josiah Stowell.  When Joseph and Emma entered the house Lucy had to leave the room when she saw that Joseph was empty-handed.  Joseph followed Lucy and reassured her that he had gotten the plates and handed her a cloth that contained the Urim and Thummim.  The Urim and Thummim were seer stones the Lord prepared for the translation of the plates.

The day after receiving the plates, Joseph Smith took a job repairing a well in order to earn some money to get a lockbox.  That same day Joseph Sr. overheard a group of men plotting to steal the plates.  Joseph rushed home to share what he’d overheard.  Joseph Jr. was an hour’s drive away working on the well, so Emma traveled to see him.

Joseph returned home and then went to recover the hidden plates.  He wrapped the plates in a shirt and headed for home.

Lucy Smith writes about Joseph’s trip back home with the plates, “After proceeding a short distance, he thought it would be safe to leave the road and through the woods.  Traveling some distance after he left the road, he came to a large windfall, and as he was jumping over a log, a man sprang up from behind it and gave him a heavy blow with a gun.  Joseph turned around and knocked him down, then ran at the top of his speed.  About half a mile farther he was attacked again in the same manner as the former and ran on again; and before he reached home he was assaulted the third time.  In striking the last one, he dislocated his thumb, which, however, he did not notice until he came within sight of the house, when he threw himself down in the corner of the fence in order to recover his breath.  As soon as he was able, he arose and came to the house.  He was still altogether speechless from fright and fatigue of running” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, 107-8).

Joseph had successfully made it home with the plates!  Joseph needed a place to keep the plates so he sent his youngest brother Don Carlos down the road to the home of his older brother Hyrum to get a box in which to store the plates.  It wasn’t until the plates were safe in the box that Joseph relaxed.

Continue reading in Part 9

Image Credit: David A. Baird/Historical Arts and Castings -Creative Commons –

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Book of Mormon Video Series. Awesome!

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Before I share these awesome videos.  I think it would be helpful if you had a background in what the Book of Mormon is.  Check out this post I created about what the book is.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently undertook the monumental task of creating a series of videos depicting the stories contained in the Book of Mormon.  I don’t know how in-depth they are going to be in every story of the Book of Mormon, but based on the first season, they are quite thorough.

I was tempted to embed each video on a page for you to easily find, but anticipating that they will be releasing quite a few over the next several years, I’ve decided to simply direct you where to go to find them.

 

All of the videos are available to see on YouTube.  Be sure to subscribe so you can be kept up-to-date on the newest episode.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also hosts the videos natively on their site.  This might be a little easier to watch chronologically since YouTube is a bit confusing sometimes on navigation.

Each tile represents a section of scriptures.  The longest video is the master story while the shorter videos are little vignettes of things that occurred during that time as well.

I don’t know why they didn’t include the short videos in the longer video, but I think they made them as specific lessons for the church’s study curriculum during the 2020 year.  Maybe one day an extended version will be available.

Image Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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What Exactly is the Book of Mormon?

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What is the Book of Mormon

I asked my daughter what the Book of Mormon is and she said, “Some people talking about Jesus and their lives and some stuff like that.”  That is the answer of a 10-year-old who has grown up in a home where she has grown up learning different stories and memorizing passages from the Book of Mormon.

She’s not wrong.

The Book of Mormon is scripture that originated here on the American continent.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published a brief video about what the Book of Mormon is.

 

Unfortunately, a one-minute video isn’t long enough to understand what the Book of Mormon is.  I probably won’t do it justice, but I’ll give it a try.

The History

The Book of Mormon is a compilation of the writing of prophets much like the prophets of the Bible.

The first prophet in the Book of Mormon is Lehi.  Lehi and his family lived in Jerusalem at around 600 B.C. which was in the time of Jeremiah in the Bible.

The Lord warns Lehi of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and tells him to take his family and flee.  The family traveled to the seashore where Lehi’s son Nephi (the narrator of the first part of the Book of Mormon), was instructed by the Lord how to build a ship in which the family would sail to what we now call the American continent.

Establishing a Nation

Not all was well in Lehi’s family.  The two eldest sons were real complainers and fought the trip at pretty much every point.

Once the family arrived on the new continent, those two brothers and their families separated from the rest and they would eventually become two civilizations called the Nephites for those who followed Nephi and the rest of the family, and Lamanites for those who followed the brothers Laman and Lemuel.

Over time God continued to call prophets.  One such prophet was Enos.  You can watch a video my family made about Enos Here.

Also over time, the peoples’ righteousness fluctuated and there were conflicts between the Nephites and the Lamanites.

A large portion of the book named after the principal author Alma, describes numerous wars between groups of Nephites and Lamanites.

Why the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The crowning part of the Book of Mormon is Christ’s visit to the inhabitants of the continent.

During Christ’s ministry, He said, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” — John 10:16.

Following Christ’s resurrection, He came here to the American continent and ministered to the people for a short while. This account can be found in 3 Nephi 11-27 in the Book of Mormon.

For many years following Christ’s visit, there was peace in the land, but that was not to last.  Eventually, contention crept back into their lives and the Book of Mormon was finalized with bloodshed and complete destruction of the Nephite civilization.

One of the last Nephites was Mormon, a prophet and historian.  Mormon was the one who compiled all of the available historical records and that is why the book is named after him.

Mormon had a son named Moroni to whom he passed the plates of the Book of Mormon.  Moroni was the last to record in the book.  He took the plates and buried them in what would one day become New York.

How We Got the Book of Mormon

In 1823 Moroni visited Joseph Smith and instructed Joseph in the translation of the plates into what we know as the Book of Mormon.

I encourage you to read the several posts I’ve written about Joseph Smith regarding his life, the personal visit of God the Father and Jesus Christ, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The story begins with Getting to Know Joseph Part 1

In Conclusion

I’m going to simply let you read the second half of the Introduction Page in the Book of Mormon.  It puts it best.

Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

In addition to Joseph Smith, the Lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon. Their written testimonies are included herewith as “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” and “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.”

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

Image Credit: Dallas Golden

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Joseph Smith For Those in a Hurry

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Are you reading my Getting to Know Joseph articles? And are you getting impatient for me to finish? Or maybe you aren’t even wanting to read them because you stumbled upon this site during a lunch break.

I would, of course, like you to read them because I went through all that work to research and to write them!  But if not…(Read them anyway)…The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published a video about Joseph Smith that does a great job of summing up Joseph Smith in 5 minutes.  Give it a watch!  Then you can go and read the longer articles!

Also, check out the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints official website.

 

Image Credit: Screenshot from video

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Get to Know Joseph Part 6: The Gold Plates

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This is part 6. You can begin the quest with part 1.

Following Moroni’s visits on the night of September 21, 1823, Joseph Smith did as Moroni had asked and went to the Hill Cumorah to find the buried gold plates.

Joseph describes the hill, “Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.”

This is a screenshot of Google Earth’s rendering of the west side of the Hill Cumorah.

 

Joseph Smith Continues: “Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.”

Joseph’s Family was poor and the temptation to take the plates for financial gain was great.  Joseph reached into the box to get the plates but received a shock that drained him of strength.  Not learning the lesson the first time, Joseph reached again into to box to retrieve the plates and received a bigger shock this time.  The lesson still not learned he tried a third time and received a powerful shock.  Joseph asked himself, “Why cannot I obtain the book?”.  Much to Joseph’s surprise, he received an answer, “Because you have not kept the commandments of the Lord”.  Joseph looked up and there was the angel Moroni who had previously visited with him.

Joseph was humbled and prayed and received another vision where Joseph was shown Satan and his minions in their “diabolical fury”.  The angel told Joseph, “All this is shown, the good and the evil, the holy and the impure, the glory of God and the power of darkness, that you may know, hereafter, the two powers and never be influenced or overcome by that wicked one. Behold, whatever entices and leads to good and to do good is of God, and whatever does not is of that wicked one.  It is he who fills the hearts of men with evil, to walk in darkness and blaspheme God; and you may learn from henceforth, that his way are to destruction; but the way of holiness is peace and rest.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, 48-50)

Following the vision, Joseph was forbidden to take the plates after he made one final attempt to take them, and was told that it was not time to get them, but it would be after four years.  Joseph was told to return to that location every year from that time and would meet with the angel and receive instruction about what the Lord would be doing to restore His kingdom.

Continue reading part 7

Image Credit: Dallas Golden

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