View source for Moroni's visit/Joseph reported "a spirit" visiting in him in 1827

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{{H2
|L=Moroni's visit/Joseph reported "a spirit" visiting in him in 1827
|H=Claims that Joseph reported "a spirit" visiting in him in 1827
|S=
|L1=Question: Did the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith evolve from that of a magical spiritual treasure guardian to an "angel"?
|L2=Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian"
}}
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{{:Question: Did the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith evolve from that of a magical spiritual treasure guardian to an "angel"?}}

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|link=https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1446&index=5
|title=Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian
|author=Mark Ashurst-McGee
|publication=The FARMS Review
|vol=18
|num=1
|date=2006
|summary=Over the last two decades, many historians have reconsidered the origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the context of the early American tradition of treasure hunting. Well into the nineteenth century there were European Americans hunting for buried wealth. Some believed in treasures that were protected by magic spells or guarded by preternatural beings. Joseph Smith, founding prophet of the Mormon religion, had participated in several treasure-hunting expeditions in his youth. The church that he later founded rested to a great degree on his claim that an angel named Moroni had appeared to him in 1823 and showed him the location of an ancient scriptural record akin to the Bible, which was inscribed on metal tablets that looked like gold. After four years, Moroni allowed Smith to recover these "golden plates" and translate their characters into English. It was from Smith's published translation—the Book of Mormon—that members of the fledgling church became known as "Mormons." For historians of Mormonism who have treated the golden plates as treasure, Moroni has become a fantastical treasure guardian. In this essay, I argue for the historical validity of the traditional understanding of Moroni as an angel. 
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[[Category:First Vision]]

[[es:La visita de Moroni/Joseph informó que "un espíritu" de visitar en él en 1827]]
[[pt:A Visita de Morôni/Joseph Smith relatou "um espírito" visitar nele em 1827]]