The Book of Mormon: 1830 Edition

by Joseph Smith Jr.

The Book of Mormon was published in March 1830 in Palmyra, New York, under the direction of printer Egbert B. Grandin. The typesetting, printing, and calf-leather binding of 5,000 copies—nearly 3 million total pages—began in August 1829 at a cost of $3,000, paid for through the sale of part of Martin Harris’s farm. Copies of the book were read by converts, shared with families, and carried by missionaries to neighboring settlements and states, American Indian communities, and the British Isles. It is estimated that around 700 copies of the first original edition remain today. A second edition was printed in 1837.

1830 original text set in same format as the 1st edition.
Careful attention has been used to keep the text original to that 1830 publication including spelling errors and typos. In a few places spelling errors have been corrected when the meaning was difficult to understand. An old style font has been used to help the reader experience what it would be like to read the original copy.

The paperback and hardcover replicas are larger than the original, so there are less pages, 508, but they come with a larger font size making them easier to read. This edition was not printed using photocopies or facsimiles.

510 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2022

About the author

Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s. In 1827, Smith began to gather a religious following after announcing that an angel had shown him a set of golden plates describing a visit of Jesus to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. In 1830, Smith published what he said was a translation of these plates as the Book of Mormon, and the same year he organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

For most of the 1830s, Smith lived in Kirtland, Ohio, which remained the headquarters of the church until Smith began encouraging members to gather the church to a Latter Day Saint settlement in Missouri. There, tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons resulted in the expelling of the Mormons. Smith and his people then settled in Nauvoo, Illinois where they began building a new temple aided by new converts from Europe. He was assassinated by a mob of non-Mormons at the age of 38.

Smith's followers consider him a prophet and have canonized some of his revelations as sacred texts on par with the Bible. His legacy as a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been recognized by millions of adherents.

Reviews

[Sam Hesman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of my primary research interests! I’m not LDS, but I love to study their theology and history. The 1830 edition is required reading for anyone who really wants to dive into LDS history and doctrine. There are nearly 4,000 changes between the 1830 edition and the current edition. Most are subtle, such as spelling changes or grammar corrections but some are significant representing changes in the theology.
This is a must-read for LDS scholars.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it would be good to read the 1830 edition as we study The Doctrine and Covenants this year at church.