“I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and received instruction and intelligence.” — Joseph Smith Jr.1
When Angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith Jr. for the first time, he spoke to Joseph of a record on golden plates buried in a hill nearby,2 now known as the Hill Cumorah.3 He even showed Joseph a vision of where they were buried.
The next day, Joseph set out for the hill and dug in the place he had been shown. There, he found a stone box buried beneath a boulder with the golden plates, seer stones, and a breastplate inside. Moroni appeared once again to Joseph as he tried to take the plates, telling him he could not take the plates because he had not followed the commandments of the Lord. He warned Joseph to not use the plates for financial gain and told him to bring his older brother Alvin with him on the next visit, one year from the day.4 Joseph visited each year for four years before finally retrieving the plates in 1827.5
