“Who is the central figure in this story?” asked Elder Kyle S. McKay, historian and recorder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after recounting the story familiar to members of the church about Joseph Smith losing the 116 pages of translated pages from the Book of Mormon manuscript.

“I have always put Joseph Smith in the middle of it with Martin as a co-star, if you will,” he said. “Emma plays a compelling supporting role, and for most of us, Lucy Harris is lurking and suspicious, and of course, the Lord is watching over it all.”

But Elder McKay encouraged a re-narration or re-storying of this history, prompted by multiple occasions in scripture where the Savior is cited as saying, “I am in your midst.”

“By definition, midst means in the middle, at the center,” he sa

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