Joseph? 13. When was the Book of Mormon published?




CHAPTER V.

THE BOOK OF MORMON.


You will all be interested in knowing what was written on the plates which
the prophet Joseph Smith received from the angel Moroni, so in this chapter
I will tell you very briefly. Some time you will want to read the whole
book, which of course is the better way.

You have read in your histories and geographies that ruins of great cities
have been found in many places in America, showing that at one time there
were people here more civilized than the Indians. The writings on these
plates told the history of these peoples.

Six hundred years before Christ was born, there lived in the city of
Jerusalem a prophet by the name of Lehi. He had at that time four sons,
Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord told Lehi that because of the
wickedness of the city, it would soon be destroyed, and if he wished to be
saved he must take his family and travel into the wilderness. This Lehi
did. They went south-eastward until they got to the sea where they built a
ship in which to cross to a promised land. While camping in the wilderness
Lehi sent his sons back to Jerusalem to get some records of their
forefathers, and it was through the faithfulness of Nephi that this was
done.