The early, handwritten copy of the religious text was purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for a jaw-dropping $35 million in 2017.
Books have always had inherent value to them as depositories of knowledge. While most pieces of literature are fairly accessible and affordable, some do have a higher monetary value attached to them. This is especially true for foundational texts with immense historical significance. The printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon is one such piece.
Purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS Church) for $35 million back in 2017, the book remains the most expensive manuscript ever sold to this day.
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Some have argued that Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex of Leicester, purchased by Bill Gates in 1994 for $30.8 million, would be priced at around $49 million today with inflation taken into account. Still, in terms of actual money paid, the Book of Mormon holds the record.
The History of a Religion
According to Mormon belief, Joseph Smith (the religion’s founder) discovered gold plates with ancient Egyptian inscriptions (collectively referred to as the “Plates of Nephi“) near his New York home in 1827. He then translated its contents with the help of God, transforming them into a book that’s meant to be a companion piece to the Bible.
The $35 million manuscript is said to be the earliest surviving copy of the original text dictated by Smith himself. The edition is completely handwritten and mostly intact, save for three missing lines of text, which is why it’s so valuable.
Three scribes are said to have worked on the manuscript: Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, and a third unnamed one. It’s said to have been written somewhere between April 1829 and January 1830 in preparation for the book’s publication in 1830.
The manuscript’s coveted status is bolstered by the fact that only 28% of its original document—stored in Nauvoo, Illinois—survived damage over the years.
Sharing a Treasure With the World
The book was sold by the Mormon church from Community of Christ, which owned the book since purchasing it in 1903 and until its sale in 2017. Though the group’s leaders were saddened to part with their sacred text, they felt that it was a necessary step moving forward.
“The church’s use of [it] as scripture and our appreciation and respect for our history are not dependent on owning the printer’s manuscript. Letting go of this document does not affect the rights of Community of Christ to publish and protect the copyrights of its editions of the Book of Mormon,” the church shared in a statement. “When a decision had to be made, we chose the well-being of people and preserving the current and future mission of the church over owning this document.”
The LDS Church stated that it was able to acquire the manuscript with the help of “generous donors.” The group also decided to make pages of the manuscript available to the public through an online archive of works entitled The Joseph Smith Papers.
A release from LDS Church’s official website stated: “As in the printed volume, the pages of the manuscript are presented as full-color, high-resolution images. And the user may zoom in for a close-up view of the handwriting.”
This is part of the church’s goal to bring the valuable and foundational text closer to the public.
“[…] The purchase shows our commitment to transparency and desire to make materials as widely available as possible to scholars and members alike,” shared Reid L. Neilson, the group’s assistant historian and recorder.
Ben Godfrey, the product manager of the Joseph Smith Papers archive, added: “It is an amazing thing that within just a few years the printer’s manuscript has gone from being an artifact that only a few individuals would ever see to now being available to anyone in the world to inspect and study. I am confident that David Whitmer, who owned the manuscript for many years, would be thrilled that this treasure is now available to the world.”
Banner photo by Prosfilaes via Wikimedia Commons.
