and sometimes presaging events to come. These dreams continued after the family's move to Palmyra until he had had seven in all; Lucy remembered five well enough to quote in detail. Book of Mormon In the late 1820s, Smith's son, Joseph Jr., began to tell the family about golden plates, which he said contained a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. In September 1827, Joseph Jr. said he obtained the plates. In the following years, Joseph Jr. said he translated the plates into English through the use of a seer stone, which he found previously during a treasure digging expedition, as well as the Urim and Thummim, a device given to him by the angel Moroni. When the work was near completion, at the end of June 1829, Joseph Sr. and seven other men signed a joint statement, testifying that they had both lifted the plates and seen the engravings on the plates. Known as the "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses", this statement was published with the first edition of the Book of Mormon and has been a part of nearly all subsequent editions. Smith was baptized when the Church of Christ was formally organized on April 6, 1830. When Joseph Jr. saw Joseph Sr. come up out of the water, he is reported to have cried, "Oh! My God I have lived to see my own father baptized into the true church of Jesus Christ!" Presiding Patriarch In January 1831, Smith and his family moved to the church's new headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio. He was ordained to be the church's first Presiding Patriarch on December 18, 1833. In reference to his father's role as patriarch of the church, Joseph Jr. likened his father to Adam, the first biblical patriarch: "So shall it be with my father; he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding the keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints". As part of his new role, Smith presided in council meetings and administered patriarchal blessings. On September 3, 1837, Smith was also made an Assistant Counselor to his son in the First Presidency of the church. Deathbed blessings Smith moved with his family to Far West, Missouri, in 1838 and from there to the church's new headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839. Old age and illnesses had taken their toll