Volunteer docents guide guests through rooms filled with presswork history that hints at a trail of convenient coincidences that mark the miracle of how the first printed copies of the book of mormon were made possible. For the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, the book of mormon is a holy scripture in addition to the bible and has been described as the keystone of the organization. Unfortunately, despite weights sincere desire to build faith in the book of mormon, his claims cannot be sustained by the evidence. The manpower, the paper, ink, ink balls and hours of work. Book of mormon reaches 150 million copies church news. Mormon books digitized materials rare book and special. This scholarly work is the result of a lifetime of study of the original documents from which the book of mormon was first printed. Since then the book of mormon has been translated into 110 languages, and more than 170 million copies have been printed.
Collecting the book of mormon by joseph, smith first. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the. A fulltime missionary force of more than 52,000 helps distribute free copies of the book of mormon worldwide, and free copies can also be obtained from. It was obviously printed with reference to orson pratt who created the divisions and references.
First edition book of mormon history moons rare books. When exploring the circumstances and motivations of the smith family before and after the publication, it becomes clear that joseph smiths intentions were always to profit financially from the work. Many important lessons are taught in words your children will understand. Book of mormon manuscripts the joseph smith papers.
The book of mormon is published in 112 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online in march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e. The grandin printing press that was used to produce the first 5,000 copies of the book of mormon in palmyra, new york, is on display in the. Note that although the rate at which the book of mormon was translated could be considered miraculous, the rate at which it was printed was perfectly normal. The bible book of mormon was printed sixteen pages at a time, so that one sheet of paper made two copies of sixteen pages each, requiring 2,000 sheets of paper for each form of sixteen pages. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated.
The book of mormon was first published in english in 1830 in palmyra. The first edition book of mormon was printed in 1830 in palmyra, new york. To date, the book of mormon has been translated into 110 languages89 full translations, with selections of the book in another 21 languages. What role does the book of mormon play in missionary work. Unlike other major religious works, the bible, both old and new testaments, the quran and others, the original manuscripts are not available, but rather copies of copies of copies.
Many people close to the process were moved by the books message and eagerly waited for a renewing. The book of mormon was originally printed in 1830 by e. The lds church, which distributes free copies of the book of mormon, reported in 2011 that 150 million copies of the book have been printed since its initial publication. This book was printed on thirtyseven sheets and folded into thirtyseven gatherings of eight leaves each, making a text block of 592 pages. Church membership over twelve million, fifteen thousand copies are printed per working day to meet the needs of both its members and its active. An early copy of the book of mormon is now in the hands of the mainstream mormon church. The document is a handwritten copy of the original manuscript dicated by joseph smith. Today, the building the houses the bookstoreturnedreligiouslandmark is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. The book includes two blank front flyleaves and two blank back flyleaves other copies have three back flyleaves. The book of mormon was first published and sold at the bookstore of e. Davids house was a large twostory, sevenroom house, and the tornado turned most of it into matchsticks. All he had, as he walked alone into towns near palmyra, new york, was a knapsack full of copies of the recently printed book of mormon. Here at the crandall printing museum, we attempted to see what it would be like to print 5,000 copies of the original 1830 book of mormon. Book of mormon sets new record for most expensive manuscript.
Grandins bookstore in palmyra, new york, usa, on march 26, 1830. Over the next 150 years, more than 39 million copies were printed. The miraculous printing of the 1840 edition of the book of mormon by ebenezer robinson. This item appeared as joseph smith was trying to find a publisher for his volume. David whitmer, one of the witnesses to the book of mormon was living in the town at the time, and had the printers manuscript of the book of mormon stored in a room of his house.
It is not double columned and it has no publication page which would give me the date it was published and by whom. Independence man obtains book from early mormon days. To date, the book of mormon has been fully translated into 82 languages and partially translated in 25 more. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, 1923 photostatic copies. Book of mormon reaches 150 million copies church news and. Watching book of mormon videos is an easy way for your child to learn the stories of the book of mormon. In june of 1878, a tornado tore through the town of richmond, missouri. There were 5 printings of the book of mormon during joseph smiths life. Book of mormon printing history showcased in storied provo.
Grandin building and the original printing of the book of. Because of the buildings historical significance to. The first nonenglish translation was published in 1851 in danish. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august 1829circa january 1830. Book of mormon historic publication site wikipedia. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints the mormons, as they are called, have continued the printing of the book of mormon from 1830 and it is now among the top 5 most published books in history. Grandin, who owned and operated a printshop in the building.
From that humble beginning, today the church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. This is a childrens book, so a child will be the one doing the reading in the book of mormon videos. The book of mormon historic publication site is a historic site located in the village of palmyra, wayne county, new york, united states. The initial printing of the book of mormon in 1830 produced 5000 copies. Mormons believe that the bible and the book of mormon are complementary books of. Brother weight, who had the expertise to say so, estimates a minimum of 22. In the unfolding book of mormon text, joseph smith found answers to some of the questions that had brought him to the sacred grove as a 14yearold boy. It is also known as the grandin building, after egbert b.
The miraculous printing of the 1840 edition of the book of. While this 1893 german edition of the book of mormon, printed by deseret news, is wellworn, and you can still see the beautiful pebble designs inked onto the edges of the pages. Grandin printed and sold the first copies of the book of mormon. A printing history of the book of mormon mormon historic sites. First published in 1830 in english, it has been translated into 82 languages and has printed about 150 million copies worldwide. The first book of mormon was published in 1830, where 5,000 copies were printed by e. From our modern day perspective, it seems that the printing of the book of mormon would be an obvious success, but the true history varies greatly from the popular lds narrative. It has 623 numbered pages running to the very last page of text. The book of mormon printing miracle its about time. The first edition three thousand copies of the book of mormon was printed by e. The house was just outside palmyra, the birthplace of the mormon religion, and amid the attic clutter, at the bottom of a box of books, was the treasure. How the book of mormon design has changed over the last. Book of mormon, 1830, page ii the joseph smith papers.
The second edition was printed in kirtland, ohio, in the church printing office in the winter of 183637, on which i assisted in. The last printed leafbearing the signed statements of witnessesis not numbered. Today, with church membership over twelve million, fifteen thousand copies are printed per working day to meet the needs of both its members and its active missionary efforts. Today this historic site is open to the public yearround. Lds church buys printers manuscript of book of mormon for record. The first edition book of mormon was printed in 1830. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into and how many copies have been distributed in the years since it was first printed. Book of mormon historic publishing site grandin building. A printing history of the book of mormon 105 the first edition the first published text from the book of mormon was the title page, which was printed inthe wayne sentinelof 26 june 1829, an item probably obtained from the application. The printers manuscript of the book of mormon has been sold to the church of jesus christ of. The press on which the book of mormon was printed clearly required two men to operate efficiently, with each doing one of those functions.
The original order was for 5,000 copies and was completed in 200 days. There were thirtyseven forms of sixteen pages each570 pages in all. As of today, over 176 million copies of the book of mormon have been printed since 1830. Printing the book of mormon crandall historical printing. The massive amount of ink for the printing of the 5,000 copies was also miraculously provided. Your children will love book of mormon stories with 454 pages of colorful pictures. This hawaiian edition of the book of mormon was printed by deseret news in 1905, bound in blindstamped black cloth with a giltstamped title on cover and spine.
Join us this year for book of mormon day 2017 book of mormon day commemorates the day that the first edition of the book of mormon was published in english on march 26, 1830. Litster, administrator for established languages, church distribution and translation services since the publication of the first five thousand copies in palmyra, new york, in the spring of. America reads and the book of mormon religious studies. The storybook is available on kindle, or you can order a hardcover copy. As few as 500 copies out of the original 5,000 have survived. The book of mormon historic publication site in palmyra, new york, is the place where the first copies of the book of mormon were printed and bound in 1829 and 1830. That is, at least, some of the planned copies got printed, before an antimormon mob set fire to the printers house and ruined the castiron printing press and lead type pieces by throwing them.
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