LDS Church reveals the stone they say Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon

For the first time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published photos of the rock they consider sacred and believe was used by founder Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon.

Pictures of the smooth brown stone and leather pouch that it was stored in will appear in a new book, along with photos of the first printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon, The Associated Press reports. The stone has always been in the church's possession, and will go back into the vault where it has been stored. Mormons believe that in 1827, Smith was guided by an angel to a spot in present-day New York, where he found ancient gold plates engraved with "reformed Egyptian" characters. He used the stone and other tools to translate the plates into what became the Book of Mormon.

The church has been releasing more information on its history in order to be more transparent, experts say, and to clarify details that members and non-members alike can easily find on the internet. "The other churches' origins are concealed by the mist of history," said Prof. Terryl Givens of the University of Richmond. "Mormonism is the first world religion in which the origins were exposed to public view, to documentation, to journalists and newspaper reporting."

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