Yes, probably because you’re a woman like me! I love to hear the stories of the women also, Sister Peggy! 😀❤️🙏👋

Tell the LDS so that they can change the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith.

Where's Nephi?

And what about Emma? Completely left out?

The devil works in mysterious ways. Are you sure all the witnesses and Joseph Smith weren't possessed by demons and lying?

You are correct in your assessment of everything you bring up. There is no way that anyone could ever accomplish what Joseph Smith did without expressed help from our Father in Heaven. The critics of the Book of Mormon will always be there. They listen to their God Satan. We listen to the One True God of all our Father in Heaven. They would do well to open up their dried out blackened hearts & turn it to God. We must worship Him with all our being but we must not give up on those that are lost. Keep the faith, strive to do good all of your days & hold fast to the rod. Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. This I know without doubt.

I saw Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father up-close and personally (not a vision). But it was hard to tell how far away the throne was -- so maybe not so close?

Well, this was a generic angel, so he could have been Satan. No one bothered to test him, or Nephi or Moroni, so who knows? Personally, I think it must be all made up.

Maybe because these were the Generic Plates show by some angel?

That's not true at all, did they know each other yes. were they related in some cases yes. None of them had anything to gain by simply saying they seen them. They had everything to lose by standing by their testimonies, JS and his brother both lost their lives due to standing by what they said they saw. Many members were chased out of towns by mobs with torches, tar and feathers. I would argue it would have been much easier for them all to deny what they saw, but they did not because it was true. to you that is very odd. to me that is evidence what they did was true.

Yes Jeff, some relatives were gathered and working to help with the budding restoration. I can't imagine why God would show the plates to those who fought against his work of restoration and "knew" that Joseph Smith was a liar and a fake. "Why only a handful or people?" is a question worth asking, and then one should labor to receive an answer. I did. The answer is related to these other examples: (1) Jesus Christ came to an unknown city to a small group of the remnants of those with the Abrahamic Covenant when billions were alive in the world; (2) Nicodemus tried to get the Pharisees to leave Jesus alone lest they be found to be contending against the Kingdom of God; and (3) Jesus told Thomas that he was blessed because he saw and believed, but then said how much more blessed are those who believe but have not seen. Sorting through the cacophony of disparate beliefs in this world to reach the truth can only be accomplished by using God's gift to us for that purpose -- the Holy Ghost. That's his mission, i.e., to bear the truthfulness of all things. The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead; the Holy Ghost cannot dwell in unclean vessels; contention is of the Devil, so it is fruitless to expect to receive guidance from the Holy Ghost while one is contending against others (e.g., other peoples beliefs). I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Between the ages of 11 to 29, I searched many religious doctrines, joined several churches, and left every one when their core doctrines could not stand up to the "Holy Ghost" test. We contend against no church or people and support the right of all of God's children to believe as they wish. I found truth everywhere I looked mingled with the false doctrines of men; I don't regret my previous church memberships. I know that God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to a 14-year-old boy in upper state New York in 1820. Subsequently the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in its fullness. It was lost sometime after the death of Jesus when the apostles were persecuted and killed to the point that the last of them could not gather to rebuild the organization.

@@michaeljlangford Why wasn't Emma allowed to see the plates?? Or be shown them by such a Messenger??

The answer is that this woman sacrificed much to help bring truth into the world. She was conflicted and desired to know the truth to make sure her sacrifice was appropriate. She prayed with real intent to know, and God granted her prayer. God taught us in the scriptures that His truth will be established in the mouth of two or more witnesses. The witness of the three and the eight recorded in the Book of Mormon are like affidavits in courts of law for men throughout the world. God has established his truth in a legal way according to men's rules of juris prudence. The scriptures are like affidavits of the prophets -- doing as they were instructed to inform the world that God is about his business. It is up to every individual to study or ignore, believe or disbelieve the witnesses. One thing will not stand at our own very personal judgment bar with Jesus Christ (yes each one of us has a personal one-on-one with Jesus in the world to come). We cannot say we were not provided witnesses to the truth in this world; that will be thrown out of court. We will be provided Christ's knowledge for the witnesses were true, and we will remember every time we decided to disregard, thereby sealing our own judgement. Yes, many bear false witness, but we are given the means to find the ones that are true (see my comments to Frank Clough above and Jeff Lanphere below). This woman's testimony of what she saw was recorded in her journal as a witness to her posterity. It is scripture to her family. We are taught to do that, and it's very important to us all. We cannot say we didn't have witnesses. We can only say we chose to disregard or not. True witnesses corroborate each other. God loves his daughters fiercly. It has been my personal experience that the women In my family and extended family have had more visitations and spiritual visions than the men, even though they are few and sacred. I would not discuss them in casual conversation like we are having.

@@blakenef1783 Although the church is publishing this as a visitation of the angel Moroni, this is a disputed statement. Saints quotes Mary as saying this, but the creative writing team on Saints was a bit liberal when it came to inventing quotes. The record of the angel’s visit to her came from her grandson interviewing with church historians decades later, and he stated Mary said she was visited by “Brother Nephi,” according to the interview record. One of the historians added an interlineal note saying she must have meant Moroni because only Moroni had the plates. One modern historian argues it could have been one of the Three Nephites or someone else, but likely not Moroni, providing some foundation for the argument. Regardless of whether it was Moroni or someone else, because the historian more than a century ago wrote that it must have been Moroni and not the “Brother Nephi” that Mary’s grandson mentioned, the creative writing team on Saints apparently invented a quote that is specious. There are dozens of footnotes in volume 2, for example, that indicate quotes were altered “for readability “ or “for clarity” but the footnote for Mary’s quote has no acknowledgement of any such alteration. However if you do seek out the source mentioned in the footnote I think you’ll find it has no such quote, or any quote from her directly. As a former member of the news media, I am very conscious of the numerous times I heard people complain they were misquoted by reporters back in the old days. The Saints volumes deliberately misquote historical records, but I think the second volume does a better job of trying to be transparent about it and to avoid potentially altering facts.

Mary said that it was "Brother Nephi."

@@kevinjenkins7079 I think it was the "angel of light" because everything fits.

It appears the original comment I replied to is no longer there? In any case, acknowledging that a couple of hundred years have passed it’s clear that none of us was around at the time to witness that for ourselves, and apparently Mary did not leave her own account, so the story gets filtered through other people who said they heard about it. My testimony of the Book of Mormon is not based on the specifics of Mary’s experience, of course. But it is a nice story as long as the documentary truthfulness of it is respected and adhered to.

@@kevinjenkins7079 It's a pointless story though, don't you think? I mean if the Book of Mormon were real, witnessed probably wouldn't even be necessary, let alone very questionable testimonies. Have you heard the one about Moroni, Charzee, and the monkey? It's very entertaining, and I think that the LDS should go with it.

Too bad -- she is the only witnesses who claimed to actually see them.

Unless you've had a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon it would sound crazy.

No Bro, this is totally believable. Please ignore the fact that it would have been more believable if the plates were made of a futuristic material unavailable at the time, thus proving a higher intelligence was at work. EX: Aluminum, carbon fiber, an IPAD.

Maybe you should read up on Joseph Smith and the book of Enoch. But that is evidence. Evidence scares those that do not want to believe. As for me I believe.

@@Veevslav1 those who hide their own immoralities and prejudices behind a 'divine' righteous mandate are the ones who are scared. Some times you must take responsibility for your own thoughts and actions and not rely on something else to think for you.

@@zarpof3811 Heh, Oh you free thinker, prove my thoughts wrong. Show me the error of my ways. Show me how living as a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hurts the world or the community. While you are at it, tell me how anything we do in life is worth anything if there is no atonement of Christ. In a hundred years will your life have truly mattered? a thousand years? Is it less than that? Thirty years? If there be no Christ life is worth about as much as video game. Nothing. It is a fleeting illusion with 0 lasting impact. It is only a matter of time until all evidence of your existence is erased whether by the act of another human being or an act of nature. So prove me wrong, oh you free thinker. Show me your thoughts.

You are assuming they were solid gold. What if they were a gold copper alloy? Then they would weigh 60 to 80 lbs as witnesses have stated.