As soon as it was known that Joseph had the plates, many evil-minded
persons tried to get them from him, and he had to hide them in different
places to keep them safe. Mobs began to surround his house, men tried to
catch him on the roads or in the fields, and he was even shot at a number
of times. Joseph now saw how timely the angel's warning was.

Living thus in constant fear, Joseph could not do anything towards
translating the records; so he moved, with his wife, to her old home in
Pennsylvania. While on the way an officer overtook him and searched his
wagon for the plates, but could not find them. They were there, however,
safely hidden in a barrel of beans.

Arriving in Harmony, where his father-in-law lived, Joseph began to
translate some of the writings on the plates. As Joseph was a slow writer
he did not make much progress, and so he asked the Lord to send someone to
help him. In answer to this request a man by the name of Martin Harris came
to him from Palmyra, New York. Now the work went better. Martin wrote while
Joseph translated.

They had translated one hundred and sixteen written pages, when Martin
asked Joseph to let him take the writings and show them to some of his
friends. Joseph asked the Lord about it, and the answer was that he must
not; but Martin kept on teasing Joseph till at last the Lord permitted him
to show them to certain persons. But Martin showed them to others, and the
writings were lost. The Lord was displeased at this, and told Joseph not to
translate the same over again, but to write from another part of the plates
which told about the same events. However, the Urim and Thummim was taken
from Joseph for a short time, and when he received it again, his wife Emma
wrote a little for him.