“Chapter 1: How We Got the Book of Mormon,”
Book of Mormon Stories, 2
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When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, many churches were claiming to be true, and he did not know which one to join.
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One day Joseph read James 1:5 in the Bible: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” Joseph needed to know which church was right, so he decided to ask God.
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On a spring morning Joseph went into the woods near his home to pray.
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As he knelt down and started to pray, Satan tried to stop him. Joseph prayed harder, asking Heavenly Father for help.
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Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph in a pillar of light. Heavenly Father pointed to Jesus and said: “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
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Joseph asked which church he should join. Jesus told him not to join any of them because they were all wrong.
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When Joseph told some people what he had seen and heard, they laughed at him. The leaders of many local churches persecuted him.
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Three years went by. One night Joseph was praying to be forgiven of his sins and to know what he should do.
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An angel named Moroni appeared and told Joseph about a book that was written on gold plates. Joseph was to translate these plates into English.
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After Moroni left, Joseph thought about what Moroni had told him. Moroni came back two more times that night.
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The next day Joseph went to the top of the Hill Cumorah, which he had seen in a vision. There he found a big rock. He pried the rock up with a stick.
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Beneath the rock was a stone box. As Joseph looked into the box, he saw the gold plates.
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Moroni appeared and told Joseph not to take the plates but to come back on the same day each year for four years. Each time Joseph went, Moroni taught him.
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After four years Joseph was finally allowed to take the gold plates. He used the Urim and Thummim to translate some of them.
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Scribes helped Joseph by writing the words as he translated them from the gold plates.
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Joseph took the translated words to a printer and had them made into a book.
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History of the Church 1:71
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The book is called the Book of Mormon. It tells about people who lived in America many years ago. It also tells about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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