The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is a fundamental scripture for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with the Bible and other books. Members of the Church believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from gold plates, in a period of three months, and then 5,000 copies were published for the first time in 1830.
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Since 1830, more than 176 million copies of The Book of Mormon have been printed and translated into 110 languages (89 complete translations, with book selections in 21 other languages). In addition to this, The Book of Mormon is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the Church's mobile apps (as well as some third-party mobile apps).
The Book of Mormon records the history of the ancient civilizations of America. One of those civilizations is descended from a man named Lehi, who left Jerusalem with his family around 600 BC. They traveled to the sea, built a ship and continued their journey by sea to the Americas.
Within the context of that history there is a series of prophecies and testimonies about Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, including the remarkable visit of the risen Christ to the people of the New World (America).
In 2013, the book was added to the list of "Books that shaped America (United States)" and since June 2016 it has been a part of the "America Reads" exhibition at the Library of Congress of the United States. The purpose of the exhibition is to encourage new conversations about 65 books that the American public says have had "a profound effect on American life." The exhibit features some of the rarest and most interesting editions of the Library's collections, including rare copies of the Book of Mormon.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said about The Book of Mormon: "It is a miracle to see that what began with 5,000 copies in a small printing house in Palmyra, New York, in 1830, has produced millions of copies, available in multiple languages around the world".