How did Joseph Smith bring forth the Book of Mormon?
Joseph Smith is responsible for the forthcoming of the most cherished books of scripture to members of the Mormon Church. The history of the book is quite amazing. By learning of its history, there is no doubt that it is an inspired and true book. Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon and other scripture was written for our generation to give us counsel and guidance in the last days.
Joseph Smith found the ancient gold plates and translated them, with the help of the Angel Moroni. They were buried on a hill in Palmyra, New York centuries before, and were to be dug up when the church was restored. They were saved for our generation to have and it was Joseph Smith’s responsibility to bring them forth. The ancient gold plates later became the Book of Mormon. Joseph translated the plates, which were written in reformed Egyptian, to English. This is remarkable because Joseph Smith had very little education. He translated the book through inspiration from the Lord by using using a tool called the “Urim and Thummim.” At first, Joseph had his wife Emma help transcribe the book and then Oliver Cowdry took over. It is speculated that the translation took about 60-90 days to complete.
Shortly after Joseph Smith finished translating 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, But Martin Harris took the pages and accidentally lost them. The missing pages described the early Israelite-American people and would not be retranslated. Instead, the pages were translated from a different set of plates. Joseph Smith definitely received divine intervention in order to translate the missing pages.
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon tells about the inhabitants from Jerusalem to the Western Hemisphere 600 years prior to the birth of the Savior. Following His Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to these people in the Western Hemisphere and taught them His gospel. These teachings are contained in the Book of Mormon. Through reading the Book of Mormon, we can draw closer to Christ.
Records say that the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph at least 22 times. He also appeared to the three witnesses; Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris. Joseph then showed the plates to Christian Whitmer, Hiram Page, Jacob Whitmer, Joseph Smith Sr., Peter Whitmer Jr., Hyrum Smith, John Whitmer, and Samuel H. Smith. These men comprised the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon was first printed and sold in downtown Palmyra, New York. After the translation of the plates was complete, five thousands copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. The cost to print these books was 3,000 dollars. Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses, actually mortgaged his farm to pay for the printing costs. The Mormon Church bought the Grandin Building, where the Book of Mormon was first printed and sold, in 1978. It now serves as a historic spot, known as the Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site.