Each year, on the twenty-second day of September, between the years 1823 and 1827, Joseph went to the Hill Cumorah, as the angel had instructed him, where he was taught in matters pertaining to his sacred duties. At last the time arrived for the delivery of the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. It was the 22nd day of September, 1827. The Prophet went to the hill to keep the final appointment with Moroni, before the record should be given into his hands. Once more the angel instructed him in his duties and impressed upon his mind the great responsibility now to be placed upon him, saying:
“Now you have got the record into your own hands, and you are but a man, therefore you will have to be watchful and faithful to your trust or you will be overpowered by wicked men; for they will lay every plan and scheme that is possible to get it away from you, and if you do not take heed continually, they will succeed. While it was in my hands, I could keep it, and no man had power to take it away, but now I give it up to you. Beware, and look well to your ways, and you shall have power to retain it.”[1]
Moreover, he was told, if he let the record go out of his hands or neglected his duty, he should be cut off, but through faithfulness and perseverance he should be protected until the angel should come for the record and again take it into his keeping.
Designs of the Wicked Frustrated
Joseph soon found that the warning of the angel was all too true concerning the powers of darkness being arrayed against him, and the desire of evil-disposed persons to destroy him and obtain the plates. Scarcely was the record in his possession before strenuous exertions were made by wicked persons to get them out of his hands. Every scheme and invention which the powers of darkness could devise, were used. Conjurors, diviners with peepstones and other means were employed. Mobs gathered and searched the premises of the Smith home, even breaking into the house and ransacking it. Under pretext of law searches were made. At times it became necessary to hide the record in strange places. Once they were hidden in a hollow log in the woods; again, under the hearthstone in the house, and under the floor in a nearby shop. When the Prophet departed for Pennsylvania he hid them in a barrel of beans, and when a search was made they were not discovered. The Lord was with him in his labor and the powers of darkness were overcome and of no avail.
Martin Harris
So intense and bitter became the opposition in Manchester that the Prophet sought a place of refuge in another locality. Having received an invitation from his wife’s parents to come to their home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, he accepted the invitation and prepared to go. Being very poor he experienced some difficulty in procuring the necessary means to meet his obligations and make the journey. In this hour of distress, and in the midst of persecution, he found a friend in Martin Harris, of Palmyra, New York. Joseph, with his wife’s brother, Alva Hale, had gone to Palmyra to transact some business, and while there he was approached by Martin Harris, who said to him: “How do you do, Mr. Smith? Here are fifty dollars. I give this to you to do the Lord’s work with; no, I give it to the Lord for His own work.” Joseph offered to take the money and give his note which Alva Hale also agreed to sign, but Martin Harris refused to take the note. This money enabled the Prophet to make the journey to Harmony where he found a haven of rest.
Removal to Pennsylvania
Shortly after this event Joseph moved to Harmony, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, to the home of Isaac Hale. Later he purchased from Mr. Hale a small farm, to which he removed. Here in comparative peace he commenced to make a copy of the characters on the plates, which consisted of the learning of the Jews and the language, in hieroglyphics, of the Egyptians. He also, by Urim and Thummim, made a translation of some of them. This was done between December, 1827, and the February following. In the month of February, 1828, Martin Harris came to Harmony to visit with Joseph Smith. He had been much impressed with the Prophet’s story and desired to know more concerning the work.