A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
J O S E PH G E T S T HE PLAT E S
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN
THESE TWO EVENTS?
LOOK UP YOUR VERSE(S) AND FIND THE C.I.U.F.A.
J.S.History
Vs 28
Vs 29-30
Vs 31-32
Vs 33
Vs 46
Vs 53
Context: What story is happening
in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle of
application (act) can be drawn
from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of this
verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
JSH:28
“...persecuted by those who
ought to have been my friends
and to have treated me kindly”
APPLICATION: When have you
been persecuted for choosing
the right by those who should
have been your friends?
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
“I was left to all kinds of temptations; and, mingling with all
kinds of society, I frequently fell into errors, and displayed the
weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I
am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in
the sight of God.”
ONE APPLICATION: Are mistakes good or bad?
“In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of
any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was
never in my nature. But I was guilt of levity, and sometimes
associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that
character which ought to be maintained by one who was
called of God as I had been.”
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
JSH:29-30
ONE APPLICATION: What
was Joseph praying for
when Moroni came?
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
JSH:31-32
ONE APPLICATION: “…When I first
looked upon him, I was afraid;
but the fear soon left me”
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
That morning Joseph had trouble working. Joseph’s father told
him to go back to the house. On the way home Joseph
collapsed. When Joseph became aware of his surroundings,
he saw Moroni standing before him for the fourth time. Moroni
then repeated the same message he had given Joseph before
and further commanded him to inform his father of the vision
and commandments he had received.
APPLICATION? Do you share your life with your parents?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
JSH:33
APPLICATION? Are you OK with
your reputation being tarnished
because you are a Latter Day
Saint?
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
[Elder John H. Groberg was on the island of Tafahi] “Once, a strange thought occurred to me, ‘Why
don’t you test the prophecy that the name of Joseph Smith should be known for good and evil
throughout the world?’
He asked the family living in this home if they had ever heard of the president of the United States.
They responded, “Who’s he?” and “Where’s the United States?” Elder Groberg reported:
“I tried to explain where it was, but they couldn’t understand. They asked how big an island it was. I
replied that it was a very big island, thousands of miles away with millions of people living on it. I
told them that many people there had never even seen the ocean and that many people didn’t
know one another. They couldn’t comprehend that.”
He then asked them about the leaders of Russia and France, but they could not answer his questions.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
“Next,” he said, “I asked about some sports figures, some movie stars, famous business people,
and other things. …
“There was not a member of the Church living on this island but I took a deep breath and said,
‘Have you ever heard of Joseph Smith?’
“Immediately their faces lit up. Everyone looked at me, and the father said, ‘Don’t talk to us about
that false prophet! Not in our home! We know all about him. Our minister has told us!’ I could
hardly believe what I was hearing. The scripture … sounded in my mind that Joseph’s name
‘should be had for good and evil among all nations’ (JS—H 1:33). To me this was a direct
fulfillment of prophecy.
“I am convinced that you could hardly get a place more remote, more out of touch with modern
civilization, than the little island of Tafahi. The people there knew nothing of the great leaders
of the day—political, economic, or otherwise—but they knew the name Joseph Smith. I spent
the next few days explaining more of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and before we
left, a few of them knew his name for good” (In the Eye of the Storm [1993], 104–6)
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
JSH:46
ONE APPLICATION: Are you
ever tempted to use your
gifts for the wrong
purposes?
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
“I left the field, and went to the place where
the messenger had told me the plates were
deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the
vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the
place the instant that I arrived there” (Joseph
Smith—History 1:50). Near the top of the hill
Joseph found a large stone, “thick and
rounding in the middle on the upper side, and
thinner towards the edges” (v. 51). It was the
lid of a stone box. We can only imagine his
excitement as he opened the box. There,
having laid hidden for centuries, were the
plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the
breastplate just as Moroni had explained.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
JSH:53
ONE APPLICATION: What’s the
difference between being ‘willing’
and being ‘able’?
Context: What story is
happening in the verse?
Identify: One doctrine (fact).
Understand: What principle
of application (act) can be
drawn from this account?
Feel: How has the power of this
doctrine/principle presented
itself in your life?
Apply: What do you think God
wants us to do because of
this verse or principle?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
As Joseph approached the Hill Cumorah, he had thoughts about the
poverty of his family and the possibility that the plates or the popularity of the
translation would produce wealth. When he reached down for the plates he
received a shock and was thus prevented from taking them out of the box.
Twice more he tried and was thrown back. In frustration he cried out, “Why
can I not obtain this book?”
Moroni appeared and told him it was because he had not kept the
commandments but had yielded to the temptations of Satan to obtain the
plates for riches instead of having his eye single to the glory of God.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Repentant, Joseph humbly sought the Lord in prayer and was filled
with the Spirit. A vision was opened to him, and the “glory of the Lord
shone round about and rested upon him. . . . He beheld the prince of
darkness. . . . The heavenly messenger [Moroni] said, ‘All this is shown, the
good and the evil, the holy and 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.’ . . . You now see why you
could not obtain this record.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
His mother, Lucy, describes their
evening conversations: “Joseph
would occasionally give us some of
the most amusing [interesting]
recitals that could be imagined. He
would describe the ancient
inhabitants of this continent, their
dress, mode of traveling, and the
animals upon which they rode; their
cities, their buildings, with every
particular; their mode of warfare; and
also their religious worship. This he
would do with as much ease,
seemingly, as if he had spent his
whole life among them.”
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Treasure hunting, or “money-digging”, was a craze in the
United States at this time. In October 1825, Josiah Stowell,
from New York, came to ask Joseph to help him in such a
venture. Stowell was looking for a legendary lost silver mine
that was thought to have been opened by Spaniards in
northern Pennsylvania. Stowell had heard that Joseph was
able to discern invisible things and desired his assistance in
the project. The Prophet was reluctant, but Stowell persisted,
and since Joseph’s family was in need, he and his father
together with other neighbors agreed to go.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Joseph boarded with Isaac Hale in Harmony. While boarding
with the Hales, Joseph was attracted to Isaac’s dark-haired
daughter Emma. She was also attracted to him, although she
was Joseph’s senior by a year and a half. The budding
romance, however, was frowned upon by Emma’s father who
disliked money digging and disdained Joseph’s lack of
education. His cultured daughter was a schoolteacher, and he
wanted better for her. Because of her father’s strong
opposition to the marriage, Joseph and Emma eloped. They
were married by a justice of the peace in South Bainbridge,
New York, on 18 January 1827.
APPLICATION?
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Long before sunrise on 22 September 1827, Joseph and his
wife hitched Joseph Knight’s horse to Josiah Stowell’s spring
wagon and drove the three miles to the Hill Cumorah. Leaving
Emma at the base, Joseph climbed the hill for his final
interview with Moroni. Moroni gave him the plates, the Urim
and Thummim, and the breastplate. Joseph was now
responsible for these sacred objects and was commanded to
use all his efforts to preserve them until Moroni returned for
them (see Joseph Smith—History 1:59).
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION
Willard Chase, a neighboring farmer, along with other treasure
seekers, sent for a sorcerer to come and find the place where
the plates were hidden. When the Smiths learned of the plot
they sent Emma to get Joseph, who was working a few miles
west of Palmyra. He returned immediately and retrieved the
plates. Wrapping them in a linen frock, he started through the
woods, thinking it might be safer than the traveled road. But just
as he jumped over a log, he was struck from behind with a gun.
Joseph, however, was able to knock his assailant down and flee.
Half a mile later he was assaulted again but managed to escape,
and before he arrived home he was accosted a third time. His
mother said that when he reached home he was “altogether
speechless from fright and the fatigue of running.
150,000,000
105,000
117
87
531
85
55
8-10
1
50
7
1
101
3,925
1.7
39
1
Copies of the BofM printed between 1830 and 2011
Price a 1st edition BofM sold for in 2007
Languages the BofM printed in
Percent of world that can read BofM in own language
Pages in the BofM
Calendar days it took Joseph Smith to translate the BofM
Working days it took Joseph Smith to translate the BofM
Pages translated per day by Joseph Smith
Pages per day translated with modern technology
Scholars it took to translate the KJV Bible
Years it took to translate the KJV Bible
Pages translated per day by KJ Bible scholars
Different titles for Christ in the BofM
References to Jesus Christ in the BofM
Frequency Christ is referred to in BofM (every 1.7 verses)
Times the word “atonement” appears in BofM
Times “atonement” appears in KJV Bible (Romans 5:11)
PROPHETIC PROMISES
There is a power in the book
which will begin to flow into your
lives the moment you begin a
serious study of the book. You
will find greater power to resist
temptation. You will find the
power to avoid deception. You will
find the power to stay on the
strait and narrow path.
Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 General Conference
PROPHETIC PROMISES
Without reservation I promise you
that if each of you will [read the
Book of Mormon] there will come
into your lives and into your homes
an added measure of the Spirit of
the Lord, a strengthened resolution
to walk in obedience to His
commandments, and a stronger
testimony of the living reality of the
Son of God.
Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, August 2005
PROPHETIC PROMISES
I offer you the Book of Mormon, a precious
friend provided by a loving Savior. Within its
pages is truth that brings comfort,
guidance, peace, and yes, the
companionship of other true friends.
They will rekindle courage and mark the path to faith and
obedience. They will help you overcome the bitterness and
anguish of transgression.
More important, all of them, without exception, will lift your vision
to the perfect friend—our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ.
Richard G. Scott, October 1988 General Conference
THE BOOK OF MORMON
ANOTHER TESTAMENT OF JESUS CHRIST