Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. ~ Moroni 10:3-5

I painted this image for a Church competition on the Book of Mormon. In the visitor’s section of the stake center where I grew up in London, there was a glass cabinet with some articles of Church history, one of which was a replica set of gold plates made in heavy brass with authentic engravings. These impressed me enormously while growing up; I went to the stake president and asked him what my chances were of getting hold of them. He agreed and it was a wonderful moment for me to heft the plates, they being so realistic, and put myself for a moment in Joseph’s shoes and the incredible responsibility which he born to translate the plates. As I was looking for a good model for Joseph Smith, a brand new missionary was assigned to our ward who was a direct descendant of Edward Partridge, the first bishop of the Church. He was about the same height at Joseph Smith and fit the bill perfectly. ~Simon Dewey