to

7. Joseph didn’t have much schooling, so he wasn’t good at writing or spelling. But Heav- enly Father helped him under- stand what the plates said. 2. Four years later, Joseph and his wife, Emma, went in a 1. The showed wagon to get the plates. where to find the golden plates. They were buried in the Hill Cumorah.

8. was one of Joseph’s scribes. He wrote down the words as Joseph read them 6. Joseph used a special rock out loud. Martin Harris and called a seer stone to translate Emma were also scribes for a the plates. He also used a tool short time. called the Urim and Thummim, two clear rocks bound together 5. The writing on the plates with metal that looked like a was in an ancient language. pair of glasses. This tool had 3. People tried to steal the Through inspiration and the been buried in the Hill Cumorah plates many times. Once power of the Holy Ghost, with the plates. Joseph hid them under the Heavenly Father helped bricks of the fireplace. Joseph Smith translate what the writing said.

9. Only a few people saw

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GUY FRANCIS BY ILLUSTRATIONS the plates. Eight men, called the Eight Witnesses, saw and 10. The touched the plates. MORE ABOUT THE PLATES saw the plates too. They • The pages were thin sheets of metal. Ancient sym- also saw an angel and bols were carved onto the metal. heard God’s voice. You can 4. Another time he hid read the testimonies of the them in the barn loft. Once The plates were written in a language called Reformed witnesses at the beginning on a trip Joseph and Emma Egyptian. of the Book of Mormon. hid the plates in a barrel of The plates probably weighed 40–60 pounds (18–27 kg). That’s about as much beans. as five bowling balls! Part of the plates were sealed so they couldn’t be opened. The Book of Mor- mon comes from the unsealed part. Heavenly Father has promised that some- day we will have the translation of the sealed part too (see Ether 3:27, 4:4–7). 24 Friend February 2017 25