the angel moroni visits joseph thrice in the night—a record to be brought forth—vision of cumorah.
it was on the night of the 21st of september, in the year 1823, that joseph, having retired to his humble room, invoked an answer to his petition unto the lord. while lying upon his bed thus seeking with all the power of his spirit, the usual darkness of the room began to fade away and a spreading glory appeared, which increased until the room was lighter than at noonday. in the midst of this light, which was most brilliant around his person, stood a radiant being, whose countenance was more bright than vivid lightning and was marvelously lovely. he seemed of greater stature than an ordinary man and moved and stood without touching the floor. he was clothed in a robe of intense and dazzling whiteness, far exceeding anything of an earthly character; and his hands and wrists and feet and ankles, as well as his head and neck, were bare. the glorious personage stood at joseph's bedside; and to the awed youth, in a voice of tenderness and comfort, calling joseph by name, the angel announced himself to be a messenger from the presence of the almighty, and that his name was moroni. the holy visitor then proceeded to unfold some of the grand purposes of the lord. he said that through joseph, god's power and kingdom were to be restored to earth; that joseph's name should go out to all nations, kindred and tongues, to be blessed by the pure reviled by the unholy—that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people; that in the fulfillment of this mission, joseph would be led to a hill, where was buried an ancient record engraved upon plates of gold, which record was a history of the nations that had inhabited the american continent, and furthermore contained the fulness of the gospel as given during the administration of jesus on this land. he said that with the plates were hidden two sacred stones, set in a bow of silver fastened to a breastplate, and called urim and thummim, by the possession and use of which, men in ancient times had become seers, and by means of which, aided by the inspiration of heaven, joseph also would become a seer and be able to read and translate the engraven record.
while the angel was thus speaking, joseph was enabled in vision to see clearly and distinctly the holy hill and its environs, and the particular spot upon the hillside where the plates were held in silent trust. moroni resumed his teachings, saying that the hour had not yet come for the translation of the record, but joseph must prepare his mind by prayer and thought for the exalted duties and blessings which awaited him; and he most solemnly warned the youth, on penalty of sure destruction, against showing the hidden treasures to anyone except by commandment of god. before taking his leave, the angelic messenger rehearsed much of ancient prophecy relating to the restoration of all holiness, the second coming of our savior and his dominion upon earth; he explained many scriptural utterances; and of the wicked and unbelieving blasphemies, he spoke in such a sorrowful yet terrible voice that these words seemed to still the beating of the listener's heart:
"for behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble!"
among many commands and promises, moroni gave this assurance from the lord to joseph:
"behold, i will reveal unto you the priesthood by the hand of elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord."
as the angel ceased to speak, all the light of the room gathered to his person. above him all earthly things seemed moved away and a shining pillar was stretching heavenward. with a look of hope and blessing upon the youth, moroni ascended; and when he disappeared, darkness again fell about the bedside.
powerful emotions crowded upon joseph's mind as he recalled the things which had been revealed to him. and while he yet pondered, once more moroni came and stood in a blazing glory and repeated solemnly the heavenly lessons to the listening youth, adding that great judgments were coming upon the earth, and that grievous desolations should be poured out during this present generation.
again moroni ascended as before; and yet for the third time he returned to repeat the message of which he was the bearer. the solemn instructions were once more given, and with them a special warning concerning the plates of gold and the sacred stones. he told joseph that by reason of the poverty of himself and family, satan would try to tempt him to use them for the purpose of getting rich, and that if he had any other motive than the glory of god, they would be withheld. many hours had passed in this communion, and when the heavenly ambassador disappeared for the third time, joseph heard the birds of the air heralding the coming of the dawn.
