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The Right Path
Fearing that he has fallen off the right path, Smith prays forgiveness for all his sins and follies and receives a vision of the angel named Moroni, who speaks of a book written on gold plates and buried in a nearby hillside. According to Moroni, the book describes the people who used to inhabit America and contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. -
The Visions
Guided by his vision, Smith locates the book in a box in the Hill Cumorah, just three miles from the Smith farm, but is told by Moroni that he cannot take the gold plates yet, instead, he must return on September 22 for each of the next four years and be instructed on the mission God has in store for him. When Smith attempts to touch the box anyway, he receives a shock and is thrown to the ground. -
Translating Time
Joseph begins the task of translating the writing of the gold book -
The Gold Plates
Smith successfully digs up the gold plates. Warned by Moroni not to let anyone else see them. These stones are to help Smith translate the book from the "reformed Egyptian" in which it is written. But rumors of a golden Bible have begun to circulate in the neighborhood, so Joseph and Emma Smith must flee potential thieves. Financially assisted by a local farmer named Martin Harris, the couple sets out for Harmony, hiding the gold plates in a barrel of beans. -
The Lost Pages
Harris, who has followed Joseph Smith to Harmony, takes up work on the book, writing down Smith's words. Over the next two months, they produce 116 pages of text, but then Harris takes it back to Palmyra to show his doubting wife and loses the only copy. -
Punishment
When weeks pass with no word from Harris, Joseph heads back to Palmyra and discovers the loss. Begging for forgiveness, he is visited by an angel who takes the gold plates for a time as punishment for Smith's indiscretion. -
The Plates are back
Smith gets the gold plates and interpretation device back. -
The Beginning
In Fayette, New York, Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organize the Church of Christ during a meeting with a small group of believers. -
In the begining
According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the Garden of Eden in which God placed Adam and Eve is located in Jackson County, Missouri, near the town of Independence. -
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The First Meeting
The first organizational meeting of the LDS is held at the Whitmer farm with about 50 people in attendance. Smith and Cowdery have ordained "elders," and Smith will also become known as "prophet." The first four Mormon missionaries (including Cowdery) head west that October. Smith is arrested and charged with "being a disorderly person" for his preaching but is acquitted. -
The Start
Joseph and Emma Smith reach Kirtland; other church members will join them in the spring. For the next six years, Smith will be based there and will announce some 65 revelations, most pertaining to church structure and organization. The concept of the gathering is put in place during this year. Joseph Smith begins work on an inspired translation of the Bible. -
The New Bible
The first collection of Smith's revelations is prepared for publication as The Book of Commandments. -
Violence Occurs
Stirred up by the governor's decree, an anti-Mormon mob massacres church members at Haun's Mill, killing 17, including unarmed children. Opposition to the Mormons rages. Smith is arrested, charged with treason, and sentenced to death, his life only spared when the officer ordered to carry out the execution refuses. Smith instead will spend the next five months in jail. -
The Leader are dead
While in jail, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum are shot and killed by members of a mob. No one will ever be convicted of the crime. -
The Separation
A struggle for the leadership of the Mormon movement follows, in which the Saints are divided over whether to follow the Council of the Twelve, the surviving members of the Smith family, the remaining members of the First Presidency; or a variety of other potential leaders such as James J. Strang or Lyman Wight. During these two years, many of the Mormons who had settled in Nauvoo leave the area, but most remain. -
In Today's World
Today there are nearly 13 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide, with more church members living outside than inside the United States. The Community of Christ has more than 150,000 members and there are several schismatic groups who continue to call themselves Reorganized Latter Day Saints who probably have another 100,000 members.