The Three Witnesses' Vision of the Angel and the Plates

In late June 1829, near Fayette, New York, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris retired to a wooded area to pray, having been promised by revelation that they would be permitted to see the plates of the Book of Mormon. An angel of God appeared to them, descended from heaven, and laid the plates before their eyes, allowing them to view the engravings. Simultaneously, they heard the voice of the Lord testifying that the translation was correct and commanding them to bear record of what they had seen and heard.