Scripture Central hosts annual Moroni Day celebration

The annual Moroni Day celebration, hosted by Scripture Central in Provo, celebrated the day The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' first prophet was visited by an angel named Moroni.

It is a day for Latter-day Saints to reflect on the influence of the Book of Mormon and the impact of Moroni's mentorship to the prophet Joseph Smith.

Scripture Central is a faith organization that publishes religious podcasts, videos and research surrounding the scriptures.

"Several years after Joseph Smith received his first vision of God the Father and the Savior, Jesus Christ, appearing to him, I think he was a little confused. He wanted more. He wanted to hear more of the Lord. The angel Moroni appeared as a messenger of God to deliver to him messages. Now, these messages were essentially about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ," Eastin Hartzell said.

Hartzell is Scripture Central's marketing and social media manager.

This year is the 200th anniversary of the angel Moroni's visit when Joseph Smith received the gold plates.

The event showcased relics, physical and 3D VR models of Biblical and Book of Mormon replicas, and tech demos of Scripture Central's upcoming ScripturePlus app release.

"We've been working really hard over the last several years as an organization to create a lot of these resources that we've been pushing today," Hartzell said.

Keynote speakers addressed patrons as well, sharing historical and spiritual insight into the life of Joseph Smith and Moroni. One of the speakers was Elder Kevin G. Brown, a General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"It's the question of what path the Book of Mormon has taken over the centuries to get to your hands," Elder Brown said.

"I'm a convert. My husband and I were high school sweethearts and he baptized me before he went on his mission. I have no words on how blessed my life has been because of this gospel. Because of the Book of Mormon," attendant Patricia Bond said.

Attendants say that they felt spiritually uplifted after the event.