The Book of Mormon tells the story of how God used modern-day prophets, called Nephi and Lehi, to restore His chosen church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the earth in the early years of the second millennium AD. You can explore what life was like in the ancient Americas during the time the Book of Mormon was written.

The story begins in the Americas many years before Christ's birth. A long time before the prophet Nephi was born, Laman and Lemuel, two prophets, had a son named Noah. They were very poor and were starving. For days they couldn't provide food for themselves and their son Noah. One day they heard a voice calling to them. The voice said to them: "You shall be brought back to the land of Jerusalem; you shall be brought back to the land of your first father." Laman and Lemuel's first father was named Jared. They went back to Jerusalem and were there for a time. Then Jared died and they again felt as if they were in desperate need of food and help. They heard the voice once more and this time, they received a message to travel to the Americas. The message said: "They who receive this message shall be brought back to the land of Jerusalem, and shall be brought back to the land of their first fathers." (Book of Mormon 1:3).

So, in a remarkable display of generosity, the prophet Lehi and his family left Jerusalem with a group of people.