The Book of Mormon is one of the most influential, as well as controversial, religious documents in American history, and is regarded as sacred scripture by followers around the world, including members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the fourth-largest religious body in the United States. According to Mormon belief, The Book of Mormon was inscribed on golden plates by ancient prophets. It contains stories of ancient peoples migrating from the Near East to the Americas, and also explains that Jesus Christ appeared to the New World after his resurrection. The golden plates were discovered in upstate New York and translated by Joseph Smith, Jr., under the guidance of an angel, Moroni. From this divine revelation, Smith founded the Mormon sect, which is now comprised of more than 12.5 million members worldwide.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Laurie Maffly-Kipp, PhD, is the Archer Alexander Distinguished Professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Her publications are many and include Women's Work: From Antebellum America to the Harlem Renaissance; American Scriptures: An Anthology of Sacred Writings; and Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories. Maffly-Kipp taught for twenty-four years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Religious Studies and American Studies. She holds a PhD in American History from Yale University.