That Most Important of All Books: A Printing History of The Book of Mormon

Jul 3, 2026

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“That Most Important of All Books”: A Printing History of The Book of Mormon traces the publication and translation pipeline of the Book of Mormon from its first 1830 edition through major English-language revisions before 1844. It details expanding print runs, long-term availability, and the evolution of translation oversight—from individual translators to a dedicated Church translation department. The article also links edition “watersheds” to church growth, user-friendly formats, and ongoing scholarly work such as the Critical Text Project by Royal Skousen.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

Printing history overview

Scale, translation, and availability

English-language editions and editorial goals

Introduction to the Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith’s religious search and First vision

The Moroni visions and translation role

“That Most Important of All Books”: A Printing History of The Book of Mormon David J. Whittaker The year 2000 marked an important event in the publishing history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Organized in 1830, the Church had recently issued (February 2000) the one hundred millionth copy of the Book of Mormon, the volume that has been central to its religious claims since it was first published in March 1830. 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. The volume has never been out of print, and it is now (2005) available in full-text translations in seventy-six languages and in partial-text translations in another thirty-nine. For its first one hundred years, various individuals, mostly using their own resources but usually with Church permission and encouragement, translated the work; today, the Church maintains a translation department that oversees the process of translation and strives to assure that a “standard”translation of the text is produced. Many of the large-print runs of the Book of Mormon have come in the second half of the twentieth century, many of them coinciding with the expansive growth of the Church throughout the world. A Braille version in English was issued in 1936 and in Spanish in 1995; and, from 1995 to 2001, the first American Sign Language edition appeared. To DAVID J. WHITTAKER is curator of nineteenth-century western and Mormon manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, and associate professor of History, Brigham Young University. An early version of this article was presented at the international conference of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) meeting jointly with the Gutenberg Institute celebrating the six hundredth anniversary of the birth of Johan Gutenberg. The address was given 5 July 2000 in Mainz, Germany. date, six major English language editions have been published, the latest in 1981. In this article, I will survey the printing history of the Book of Mormon in the English language, focusing on the first edition of 1830 as well as on the other editions that were published before Joseph Smith’s death in 1844. However, I will make mention of the 1879 edition by Orson Pratt, the 1920 edition by James E. Talmage and his committee, and the most recent 1981 edition. Each edition was kind of a watershed, and each has been an attempt to give to the world the most accurate edition, fully reflecting the intent of the translation of the first edition. Each edition also strived to be more “user” friendly, using the latest technological advances and incorporating various formats and reader notes. From the beginning, most of the printing has been under the control of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I will conclude with some comments on the Critical Text Project currently underway by Royal Skousen at Brigham Young University, a project that will likely create the need for yet another edition. An Introduction to the Book of Mormon Because we cannot possibly separate the Joseph Smith story from the Book of Mormon, we must begin with his early life. Only a brief summary is possible here.1 In the spring of 1820, during his fourteenth year, Joseph Smith found himself, like many other Americans of his time, seeking for a true church. His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, was drawn toward the piety of the revivals of the Second Great Awakening. His father, Joseph Smith Sr., was more of a rationalist, drawn like his father toward Universalism and deism. It appears that the young Joseph was pulled between these polarities. He surely read the Bible and probably Thomas Paine like his father;2 he attended various revivals at the insistence of his mother. No doubt there were other influences on him. But his own accounts stress several themes, especially his strong ne

FAQs

How did the Book of Mormon’s translation and oversight change over time?

For the first century, many translations were produced by individuals using their own resources, with Church permission and encouragement. Later, the Church maintained a translation department to oversee the process and support a “standard” translation of the text.

What kinds of editions and formats are highlighted in the article’s printing overview?

The article emphasizes major English-language editions as key watershed moments and notes efforts to improve accuracy and user-friendliness through technological advances, reader notes, and various formats.

What does the introduction connect to explain the Book of Mormon’s origins?

The introduction links the Joseph Smith story to the Book of Mormon by describing Joseph’s early spiritual search, the vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ, and the Moroni visions that instructed Joseph’s future translation role.

Jul 3, 2026

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