Joseph Smith was the founder and first prophet of the Mormon religion. In New York in the early 1800's, a time of considerable religious turmoil and upheaval, at the age of 14 Joseph was wrestling with the decision of which of the churches he should join. After attending several church meetings of the different sects and still being confused about which church was right, Joseph went to a grove of trees in order to ask God in prayer. In the middle of his prayer Joseph was visited by God the Father and His Son the resurrected Jesus Christ. Joseph was told not to join any of the churches and that God would restore His true church through Joseph.
Joseph was later visited by an Angel named Moroni and told the location of an ancient record that was inscribed on plates of gold. Joseph later, with the help of God, translated the plates into what is now called The Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
