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My brothers and sisters, what we do here today
is the fulfillment of prophecy.
Peter, Christ's own Apostle, saw this very moment
and called it the restitution of all things.
Today at the command of Jesus Christ Himself,
we will restore His Church.
In 1809, my family traveled to Fayette, New York,
and settled here.
We've worked the land, and the good Lord has blessed us.
We have celebrated weddings.
We have brought children into the world,
and it is here in the rooms of our home
that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth.
Christ's own Apostle.
Hah.
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[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
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Our involvement began in the spring of 1828.
Life was busy, and we threw all our efforts into the farm
and into planting our crops.
Got a letter for you too.
I believe it's from your brother.
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Grandpa!
David, a letter came for you today.
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What does it say?
It's from Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith.
They want to bring their work here.
Why here?
Why our home?
We are continually threatened.
The Lord has directed us to ask if you would bring us
into your home, where we might complete translating the plates
without interruption.
The days are so full, Peter.
David, with so many mouths to feed,
we cannot afford to lose any time.
But Father, Oliver is convinced that this is the work of God.
Then the good Lord will see that it is completed.
Now is the time for plowing, not for bringing guests
into our home.
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Father, later told me if I finished plowing,
he would reconsider allowing Joseph and Oliver
to come to our home.
I threw myself into the work, but it progressed very slowly.
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Lord, if this is truly Thy work, prepare a way for us
to be a part of it.
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We should finish plowing by Thursday.
I want to sow the field by the end of--
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I prayed, father.
I prayed that the Lord's might be made now.
Take the wagon.
Bring them here.
Tell them our home is theirs.
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They should have been back this morning.
They will be here presently.
Peter, to be honest, I'm still not
entirely certain to think about all this.
I don't know either, but the heart does not lie,
and my heart's telling me we should trust David.
Have we missed supper?
No, not at all.
Come.
Mother, Father, you know Oliver.
Hello.
And this is Joseph Smith.
Welcome.
Welcome to our home.
Thank you.
Late at night an angel appeared to me.
He called me by name.
He said that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God.
He said that his name was Moroni.
Moroni told me about a book written on gold plates buried
in a hill not far from my home.
Where are these plates now?
They're here.
I have them.
What have you translated?
What do they say?
They give us an account of the former inhabitants
of this continent.
Moroni also said that the fullness
of the everlasting gospel is contained in them.
Oliver, please read this passage to them.
"How is it that ye can attain unto faith,
save ye shall have hope.
And what is it that ye shall hope for?
Behold, I say unto you that ye shall have hope
through Christ and the power of His Resurrection to be
raised unto life eternal."
May we see the plates?
The Lord has commanded Joseph to keep them hidden,
to protect them with his life.
Then for now the Lord asks that we walk in faith.
Yes.
For now.
But in time, three witnesses will be chosen by the Lord
to see them.
It is spoken of in the plates.
The light through the window here is good most of the day.
I'll be in the fields.
If you need anything, Mother is just downstairs.
And David, thank you for bringing us into your home.
This is the work of the Almighty God.
It is I who should be thankful.
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And we talk of Christ.
We rejoice in Christ.
We preach of Christ.
We prophesy of Christ, and we write according
to our prophesies that our children may
know to what source they may look
for a remission of their sins.
They have testified of the coming of Christ
and have looked forward and have rejoiced in this day.
Wherefore I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ.
For behold, the words of Christ will tell you
all things what ye should do.
Thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
I would that ye should come under Christ
who is the Holy One of Israel and partake
of his salvation and the power of His redemption.
Whatsoever thing you shall ask if faith believing that ye
shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.
And I had faith and I did cry unto God
that he would preserve the record.
It picks up mid-thought, mid-sentence,
as if he's left a bookmark in his favorite Book.
David, it's like nothing I've ever experienced.
May I join you?
Of course.
Joseph, the three witnesses you have spoken of,
I'm convinced of the truthfulness of this work.
Is it vain of me to ask to be one of them?
David, I've asked that same question many times myself.
The Lord will call whom He will call, and it will be soon.
The translation is almost complete.
David, Joseph, they're here.
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Hello, Mrs. Smith.
Hello, Mr. Smith.
Your hair is grown longer.
Well, you'll have to tend to that for me.
You've walked such a long, lonely road Joseph.
Soon we'll all walk together.
Can't you see it, Emma?
All of us as one, all brothers and sisters each
a part of Christ's Church.
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Good morning, Reverend Willers.
What brings you out this way?
Ah, I've been hearing stories, Peter.
I wanted to make sure they're not true.
Oh.
I'm not certain what you know about the Smiths,
but they are not to be trusted.
The one you house is known from here to Albany for his stories
and his tales of visits by angels
and his Bible written in gold.
Dietrich, it is a work of ancient scripture,
God's word given to prophets here in America.
New scriptures?
Peter, you do realize what you're saying, don't you?
I'm just here, because I'm--because we are all
concerned.
Tell me, Reverend, why could not the Lord speak to us today?
Has He forgotten us?
Has He lost His voice?
No.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And then none of the prophets have written or prophesied--
As the translation neared completion,
Joseph sent his brother Samuel to bring the Smith family
and a man named Martin Harris back to our farm.
Martin Harris?
May have lost the pages, but he hasn't lost his faith.
I want him to be here.
Will do, Joseph.
I will be back soon.
Martin Harris was one of the first to believe Joseph.
He even served as one of Joseph scribes,
but when he begged Joseph if he could
show his wife the translated pages, he lost him.
When I saw them arrive, I could not help
but think that because of this man
Joseph had lost the ability to translate for a time.
None of us were certain why Joseph
had asked Martin to come.
Joseph, I can't forgive myself.
No.
The mistake was both of ours, and the Lord has forgiven us.
Let's you and I both rejoice in being a part of His work.
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What is it, Joseph?
The Lord spoken to me, Emma.
He has chosen His three witnesses.
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[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Let us pray, each of us.
The Lord will answer in His own way.
Our Father in heaven, we kneel this beautiful morning
and ask that Thou grant us the witness
we need to finish Thy work.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude and divine assurance
for having been selected to fulfill the prophesies of Thy
servants of old.
We pray, Father, show unto us those precious and sacred
truths that Thou has in store for us.
Amen.
Wait.
This is my fault. The Lord is silent because of me.
Our Father which art in heaven, in accordance to Thy wishes,
show these good men the plates.
Grant unto them the witness that Thou has promised.
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An angel stood before us.
He laid before our eyes the plates so
that we could see them and discern the engravings there
on.
And then from out of the bright light above us,
the voice of the Lord commanded us
that we should pay a record of it.
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There are moments in every person's life
that could change them forever.
This was mine.
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Shortly after our experience, the Lord
called more witnesses to see the plates near Joseph's old home
in Manchester, New York.
They added their sober witness to ours.
Joseph was no longer alone.
Others had finally seen.
I can't begin to tell you how grateful I feel.
The burden is gone.
Finally others have seen the plates.
I can already see a difference in you.
David, Oliver, my father, my brothers,
the Whitmers--none of them have ceased talking about what we
saw.
We can begin farming again and raising a family.
Finish translating first.
That you may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ.
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Is that?
I suppose.
I suppose we must find a printer.
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Joseph and Oliver found a printer in Palmyra
where they printed the first copies of the Book of Mormon.
When they finished, we each anxiously awaited our own copy.
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In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word
be established.
Your testimony will now go forth to the entire world.
Thank you for fulfilling prophecy, David.
It is great honor.
And a great burden.
The eyes of the world would be upon you the rest of your life.
Let them look.
I know what I saw.
I have one more thing to ask of you David.
Will you stand as a founding member of Christ's restored
Church.
Gladly, Joseph.
Gladly.
This day, the 6th of April 1830, in the eyes of God
and being endowed with power given us by the Lord Jesus
Christ, we officially establish the Church of Christ.
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My brothers and sisters, this is a glorious day.
This is a day for the eternities.
And indeed it was.
It was a day of prophecy, a day illuminated by the Spirit
of God, a day of sublime joy.
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I have seen.
My heart is full, and now our work is finished.
No, David.
It is only just begun.
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