Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a religious text considered to be sacred scripture by several religious groupings, by far the largest of which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church, more popularly known as the Mormon Church.

The Book of Mormon was first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr. who claimed that it was a translation made from engraved metal (specifically gold) plates to which he had been led by the angel Moroni. According to Smith, the engravings were made in an ancient script which he (Smith) called reformed Egyptian and which were translated with the aid of "interpreters" (called the Urim and Thummin) found together with the plates.

The introduction to the Book of Mormon, as published by the LDS Church, states that the plates "were written by many ancient prophets" and that they "contain a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas".