The Next Step

We have the apostate church, a need for restoration, and a situation that only God himself could clear up. What happens? God chooses at the right time and place a person to work through to restore the church. In 1820 He and Jesus Christ show themselves to a teenage boy, named Joseph Smith, who was looking to know which church is true. He tells him to not join any of them as they were all astray and taught as doctrine the ideas of men. A few years later when this young man was praying to God for forgiveness of his sins and desiring to know how he stood before God, God sent Moroni to speak with him. Moroni told him about many things that would come about, but specifically told him about the book written on golden plates that had been hid in the ground many hundreds of years ago by Moroni himself. The book told the history of a people group descended from some of the Israelites of Joseph's line who were led to come to the american continents after escaping the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Moroni visited him three times that night saying the same things and then visited him again the next day. He was shown a vision of where the plates were hidden and he was to meet with Moroni there. When he did, he uncovered the hole where the plates were hidden along with a breastplate and the urim and thummim. He was not allowed to take them at this time, but was to come back and meet with Moroni at the same time every year until the time was right to take them.

When the time was right, God allowed him to take the book and the breastplate and urim and thummim, these two stones of which gave Joseph Smith the ability to translate the book, by God's power. During this time God sent a man, Oliver Cowdery, to help with the work by being the scribe that Joseph dictated to. During this time, they both saw and received the Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist, and were then able to baptize each other and many after them. Also, Peter, James and John came to these two also and bestowed the Melchizedek priesthood, the priesthood after the order of the Son of God. After much work and persecution, also people trying to steal the plates, the traslation was done and printed. Shortly after this God established his church anew and gave many instructions.

This is obviously a very brief overview. There is so much to be said I get overwhelmed with it all. :)