Delighted by the faith and obedience of the members of His Church, and the manner in
which they had embraced the principles of Zion in recent years, the Lord one day came to a
decision––He would bring to pass a miracle of great significance before the eyes of the world.
This was not something that had been previously prophesied or even alluded to indirectly in the
scriptures; rather, it was just something that the Lord wanted to do—under the direction of the
Father—at this time in the earth's history, for He is God, even the Savior of the world. He can
interact with the inhabitants of the earth at any time and for any reason and make spectacular
things happen<\/span>.<\/p> <\/p>
Shortly thereafter, an invitation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was
published in all major newspapers of the world and placed prominently, almost alone, in fact, on
the home page of the Church website. It read as follows:<\/p>
<\/p>
To all <\/i>k<\/i>ings, <\/i>p<\/i>residents, <\/i>r<\/i>ulers<\/i>,<\/i> and <\/i>m<\/i>agistrates:<\/i><\/p>
<\/p>
Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Son of God, <\/i>and <\/i>the Savior<\/i> of the world,<\/i> requests your
presence at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah<\/i> on Tuesday, March<\/i> 17th at 2:00 PM. The
golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was originally translated will be on display <\/i>to the
general public <\/i>for the first time <\/i>in history<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>
<\/p>
The printed announcement immediately caused a great stir among the news media and
the public. All peoples of the earth now looked to Salt Lake City, but not for the Olympic Games
this time. The public relations department of the Church was ready and waiting to field all calls
and emails on the subject, confirming the announcement to all interested parties, and directing
everyone to a special news website of the Church where additional information had been made
available. National news reporters put down their first cup of coffee of the morning to pick up
their phones and verify the story. <\/p>
<\/p>
What was this<\/i> Book of<\/i> Mormon<\/i> plates<\/i> thing all about today? Was it for real?<\/i><\/p>
<\/p>
The answer they were receiving back from Church officials was yes, it was real. <\/p>
Whatever perceived differences people had with beliefs of the restored Church of Jesus
Christ, the Church, recognized throughout the world for its charitable works, was well-respected
by virtually every sane and reasonable person, and even by some of the unreasonable ones as
well. News reporters, therefore, had no doubts that the invitation was legitimate. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
On something of this magnitude, if the Church was not a credible organization, the entire
affair would be a one- or two-day news story and quickly dismissed. But the Church was a
reputable institution and a powerful force for good in the world—something clearly evident by
the way people were reacting to the announcement. Those who held unfavorable views of the
Church felt a nervousness in their stomachs, wondering—like Coco being swept off the dining
room chair by Carolyn—if they had been sitting in the wrong spot all of their lives<\/span>.<\/p> <\/p>
And it must be said that through the invitation alone, the Church had already taught the
world an important lesson by raising two important questions:<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
(1) What great and marvelous things will God reveal today that the world has never seen
before?<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
(2) What will He reveal tomorrow?<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
The suddenness, and the astounding nature of the Lord's actions had thus caught many off
guard. Revelation is like that. You have to be ready at all times for new ideas, new doctrine, new
precedents, and glorious new blessings to come from the heavens to man.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
Through this announcement, the Church had thrown down a gauntlet to the world. If a
major truth of man's existence was about to be established once and for all, the long-assumed
moral equivalence between religions would no longer exist. In fact, religion itself would no
longer exist. With this new, overriding truth (a first truth, if you will) made manifest, all peoples
of the earth would have the responsibility to react to it, and not just to believe in it, but to know
it. No longer would it be acceptable to pretend the truth of religion was subjective and
unverifiable—a personal matter that individuals can only decide on their own. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
Given the possibility that the original testimony of Joseph Smith concerning the golden
plates might soon be established by the team of scientists who had been invited to participate in
the event, much that was previously written about religion and science in textbooks, scientific
journals, and encyclopedias would need to be changed. The decision, thus, for newspaper editors
and TV news producers, was an easy one. The story merited front-page coverage every day for
the next two weeks until the time of the presentation in Salt Lake City had arrived. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
Bloggers on the Internet went wild with speculation. Some were excited, some were
confused, some were skeptical, and some were angered by the announcement; but it was the
hottest topic of discussion by far.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
Reaction from world leaders and their press officials was cautious and noncommittal at
first. But as inquiries were made, and as the simple nature of the event became clearer, most
countries decided it was in their best interest to send a representative of some kind. For although <\/p>there was a risk of being caught up in something they didn't fully understand, the curiosity
among their own people wouldn't allow them to just sit by and let other countries, and not their
own, be there in attendance. And they themselves, the leaders, were also quite curious, desiring
to have a firsthand report of the event and not be left out. They were also quite pleased to learn
that, although bold in nature, the invitation had been extended by the Church in a friendly
manner. World leaders, or representatives of their choosing, were simply being invited to attend
what was expected to be an interesting and exciting event. As in all things of a celestial nature,
individual agency was key. Nobody was being forced to come or, for that matter, even to believe
in the legitimacy of the event. <\/span><\/p>
<\/p>
In the days leading up to this international gathering, the list of dignitaries and
government representatives was compiled by Church officials, and reservations were confirmed.
It was decided to use the Empire Room of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the
presentation, as it offered a more informal atmosphere for the 150 guests expected to attend, as
well as the forty to fifty men and women of Church leadership who would also be in attendance. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
On the morning of March 17, more than ten years having passed since the first ever Zion
conference of the Church, the entire downtown area of Salt Lake City––specifically, the areas
around Temple Square and the Joseph Smith Building––was under very tight security. The
Empire Room was beautifully prepared with a lighted display table in the center surrounded by
two hundred chairs arranged in rows on all four sides. To enter and exit the room from either
door, and to approach the display table easily, walkways were provided between the rows of
chairs.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
In the Bonneville Room, a number of tables were also set up for use by a group of thirty
scientists, archaeologists, and language experts from around the world. They were encouraged to
bring along their own equipment (checked through first by security) to run a series of tests on
gold plate samples that would be provided to them from the main exhibit. Special floor coverings
were brought in to protect the carpeting against spills from chemicals or acids that might be used. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
By 1:15 PM, visitors had already started arriving in the lobby and were directed by hosts
into the Empire Room. At 1:50 PM, the doors were closed, and all the invitees were asked to find
their chairs. Seat assignments had been made ahead of time, but virtually every seat offered a
good view of the display area in the room's center.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
For a first-person description, we turn to an account given by David Nichols, special
advisor to the British Ambassador of the United States, to the BBC later that afternoon. Seated in
the center of one of the first rows, his description of the event went as follows:<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"I'll start by stating that I kept careful notes of the proceedings so I could share them with
you and all the people of the British Isles. To be honest, I was a bit nervous. An event like this is
quite unprecedented. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"Once the doors were closed, the room became strangely quiet. What were we about to
see? Was it real?<\/span><\/p><\/p><\/span><\/p>
\"I had discussed the matter previously with a good friend of mine who was a member of
this church, and he assured me that, based on all he had been told, the event was real and had the
potential to be one of the great moments in world history. I, of course, had my doubts, and was
more skeptical. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"At 2:00 sharp, the main doors opened and a group of four men entered. Three of these
were older men. I recognized them instantly as the First Presidency of the Church, the president
and his two counselors, from photos I had seen earlier that day. The fourth person was a large
and very stout man in his forties, an assistant of theirs perhaps, and it was he who brought these
mysterious plates in using a cart and then moved them onto the table in the center of the room.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"In a friendly and somewhat informal manner, the president spoke to us to begin the
proceedings, saying these words:<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to welcome you all here today for this special
event. The invitation was a bit sudden, but I must say, we really didn't have much of a chance to
prepare ourselves. It was a bit of a surprise to us here in the Church as well!'<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"He gave a friendly grin to the group. The audience laughed with him, and he continued.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'So here they are. I really don't have anything more to say to you right now other than
this––It is our pleasure to present to you the plates from which the Book of Mormon was
translated by Joseph Smith Jr. between the years 1827 and 1830. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'Please come up to the table, row by row, until everyone has had a chance to see them up
close. Feel free to touch the plates and browse through them, but we ask that you handle them
gently and not scratch them with any rings or watches you may be wearing. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'As was previously mentioned, no cameras and no video or audio recorders are allowed.
Please obey these rules, or you will be asked to leave. Photographs of the plates will be released
to the public later today on the Church website. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'Also, so that you're aware, the plates have already been shown to the team of experts in
the Bonneville Room. They selected two of the plates to use for analysis and have removed them
from the bindings.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'So, with that being said, let's begin now with the first row.'<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"He motioned to those in the front row opposite me. They arose from their chairs and
moved towards the table. The heavyset man remained close by to keep careful watch over the
plates, whereas the three Church leaders stepped back and out of the way to avoid blocking the
audience's vision.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"Let me now share with you my impressions of what I saw at this important moment. <\/span><\/p><\/p><\/span><\/p>
\"I must say that there wasn't much effort made to impress us with a glittery and sparkling
display, like that of the Crown Jewels or the King Tut exhibits. At first glance, from where I was
seated, the outward appearance of the plates seemed to be somewhat dull and unrefined. Only the
lights underneath the glass display table gave them any brightness at all. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"When my seat row was selected, and my turn to approach and handle the plates came,
the dullness of the metal plates was further confirmed to me, although they were quite
fascinating to see up close. I took my turn handling them, lifting a few of the plates one by one,
and moving them over to the other side of the binding. They were roughly six by eight inches
and somewhat thin, with characters nicely engraved, and which were possibly Egyptian or, as
stated within the Book of Mormon itself, 'Reformed Egyptian.' <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"Each person took about fifteen seconds to inspect the plates in turn. Once everyone had
been through the line, the room went silent. The Church president returned to the center area and
addressed us once again.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'Let me say just a few words in conclusion to all of you here. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'I'd like to bear witness to the fact that these plates contain the writings of prophets who
lived here in America many centuries ago. It is a second testament of Jesus Christ and has been
published to the world in many languages as the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith, the first
prophet and seer of this last dispensation of the gospel, translated the words on these plates into
English by the power of God. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'I know the Book of Mormon is true, and my testimony to you today is confirmed further
by the presence of these plates that each of you has handled and seen up close. We send
missionaries out every day bearing this glad message to the people of the world, asking that they
read the book and pray about its truthfulness. With the plates having now been made public,
there can no longer be any doubt about the divine origin of this book.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'I exhort you to carefully ponder in your own life what has happened here today and
share a testimony of these proceedings with the people living in your home countries. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'I say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.'<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"And the audience responded, 'Amen.'<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"He continued. 'The presentation is now completed. We thank all of you for coming. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'The activities in the Bonneville Room will go on for several more hours, most likely
into the night. A public press conference is scheduled for tomorrow morning. <\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"'You are all welcome to stay here and talk for as long as you wish, or you may move to
the main lobby to continue your discussions or meet with members of the press who are waiting
there for you. <\/span><\/p><\/p><\/span><\/p>
\"'As a reminder, at 6:00 tonight, there will be a dinner held in this very room for all of
you here. The menu options for this evening's meal can be found in the packet that each of you
was given earlier. At 8:00 in the Conference Center, there will be a specially televised music and
dance performance featuring the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. We
encourage you to attend both events if you're able. It should be a wonderful evening.'<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"After he had finished speaking, the assistant lifted the plates from the table back onto the
cart and moved them towards the main doorway with the three Church leaders in escort.
Afterward, many of us decided to remain for a while, sharing our impressions of all we had just
seen. There was great excitement in the room to say the least.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"For many of us, the only disappointment was the presentation itself. It seemed almost
matter-of-fact. For something this important, with the eyes of the world squarely upon it, we
expected to hear a great, long-winded speech of some kind, accompanied by dramatic lighting,
music, and display effects, and perhaps even a bit of hysteria and excitement. What we got
instead was akin to a routine business meeting, lacking only a PowerPoint presentation on a
projection monitor. It was anticlimactic in a way.<\/span><\/p> <\/p>
\"On the other hand, what we saw was real enough. The plates had the general
appearance, feel, and characteristics of what they claimed to be—the most important
archeological artifact in the history of the world. But while they appeared to be real, most of us,
including me, didn't know just yet what to think or believe. We were anxious to see what the
experts in the other room would later have to say about all of this.\"<\/span><\/p><\/p>"}