found gold plates engraved with sacred writings that became the book of mormon
Golden plates According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible)[1] are the source from which Joseph Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith.[2] Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds (14 to 27Â kg),[3] being golden in color, and being composed of thin metallic pages engraved on both sides and bound with three D-shaped rings.[4]