The Book Of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a collection of writings by ancient prophets and their record keepers. It is named after Mormon, one of the last of these ancient prophets. The text originally appeared on a series of golden tablets that were translated by Joseph Smith. Smith testified that the translation was accomplished “by the gift and power of God,” as he knew no ancient languages at the time, and that he was instructed by God to provide the rendering of these documents into the English language to restore “Christ's true church in the latter days.” In this, Smith became known as the founder and First Prophet of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Divided into smaller books and subdivided into chapters and verses, The Book of Mormon notes a number of distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve, judgment, salvation, and the organization of the latter day church; however, one more distinguishing event of the book is the appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas following his resurrection in Jerusalem.

In 1837, Pratt and Goodson published the second edition of the Book of Mormon and the third edition, published by Robinson and Smith, followed three years later. As of 2011, more than 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon have been published.