NOTE TO ALL VALIANT MMM READERS: The Family Proclamation Celebration begins tomorrow! Check back and be prepared to laugh, cry, learn and celebrate. (Maybe even all at the same time.) More information here.
Last week I wrote about how I don’t mark my scriptures, and I enjoyed seeing all the follow-up comments. Everyone has their own study-style. What works for me, might not work for you. Today I would like to tell you about one of the times that I read the Book of Mormon that was an entirely new experience.
First, let me reestablish that I am a firm believer in the Book of Mormon. I lost track of how many times I have read it, both alone and with my family. I know it is the word of God through both personal application, and divine confirmation. There are plenty of people who would gladly spend their heartfelt time trying to explain why I am wrong, but nobody can contend with what I have felt and experienced. It is a done deal, and my life and eternity hinges on it. And it is a beautiful thing.
Back to scripture marking. Check out this bit of marking from 1874:
These markings are from Orson Pratt. He was the man who divided the Book of Mormon into chapters and verses. He also added cross-references and footnotes. The Book of Mormon we know today is the direct result of Elder Pratt’s scripture markings. (If you want to know more about him and his amazing relationship with the Book of Mormon, read
this.)
Up until 1879, the Book of Mormon was written and read more like a novel. One big column, no verses, but with gigantic paragraphs. Now when I say a “novel,” I don’t mean that you can blow through it like the latest Grisham or Baldacci, but it is a different experience.
Don’t get me wrong – I am soooo glad that they chose to go with the numbered scriptures. Can you imagine how hard it would be to teach without? “OK class, turn to page 190 in the Book of Mosiah. Now, go about 1/3rd down the page, right above the new paragraph where it talks about the king, then go back up three lines. OK, now skip the next eight words to where it says ‘But’. Are you with me?”
A few years back, my sweet EC gifted me a copy of an 1830’s Book of Mormon for my birthday, because she is wise like that. I wish it had been one of the original 1830 copies, but I was still content to have a Deseret Book knock-off. They call it a “replica” edition. I call it Book of Mormon “Classic.”
Here is a page from it:
Reading it was a fabulous experience. From a nostalgia standpoint, it was cool knowing that this is what all the early saints read from when the first testimonies were born. It is the version that Parley P. Pratt sat up all night reading. This is the version that led to the founding of the restored Church.
The reading experience was also different. By stripping away the chapters and verses, the text seemed to flow more smoothly. Especially during the stories. I don’t know if my sub-conscious mind pauses when it hits a new verse or what, but it was different. And much faster.
Without sounding too much like a real writer, I noticed that it was easier for me to find the voice and tone of the different authors. I also found that the flow of the narrative forced its way through – it felt less like a collection of verses stuck together.
When reading the “Classic,” I found myself discovering new things that I had not noticed before. I think the difference has to do with the way the text is broken up into verses. Perhaps I had been conditioned to accept Elder Pratt’s version as the definitive, but I enjoyed not being bound by his views on when an idea begins and ends.
If you get a chance, I would highly recommend that you give this a try. If you already have, I would be curious as to what you think. Remember, there are a few things that have been changed over the years that might cause you to pull out your current scriptures to double check. But let me reassure you, there have been no changes since the original metal version that lessen the truthfulness and testimony of the Savior.
You can get the “Book of Mormon Replica 1830 Edition” at
Amazon.com, or
Deseret Book. It is kinda pricey, so I would suggest that you scout around and try to mooch it off somebody. Besides, you aren’t going to be marking in it anyway…right? You can thank me later.
Here
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Ditto to what you wrote. I bought a first-edition replica a few years back, and was also amazed at the difference in the feel of reading it less like “scriptures” and more like a story. In particular, there are several places in the modern versions where chapter breaks come right in the middle of a story, and the impact of the events gets obscured by the chapter break (the one that strikes me the most is the break between Helaman 9 and 10 — I wish that artificial barrier weren’t there!).
I’m so happy to see this post . . . I received a copy of the 1830 Replica of the Original Edition as a gift from my son several years ago because he enjoyed it so much. I love it! I use it daily for my personal Book of Mormon reading, I love the way it flows so easily and I find it much easier to follow the actual “story” of the Book of Mormon. I do find myself frequently stopping to look up the scriptures (where in the world am I??) in my traditional leather bound copy and making some notes. I have recommended it many times to those who are looking for an alternate scripture study tool. (I seriously also LOVE ldsscriptures.com Ipad app – for scripture and gospel study – with those two tools I really have developed more of a love and ability to immerse myself in scripture study 🙂
Kristin
Several years ago, I bought a copy of “The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition,” by Grant Hardy and it changed how I read it now. The book is divided into paragraphs, with the original verse numbers in small print. The chiasmus parts are clearly defined, and it has comments and clarifications now and then. I can take it to Sunday School and use it as I used to use my other scriptures. I don’t want to go back to my “real” scriptures to read the Book of Mormon each day. I much prefer this reader’s edition.
I have done it, and it does make it fly by a bit faster. Interestingly, last time I read the BoM, I read it online, which also made it go faster, because I couldn’t get caught up on how many pages I had or had not read.
I’m super excited to see what you’ve got lined up for the couple of weeks! Congrats on busting through the glass bloggery ceiling!
A year ago I was challenged to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days. My mom suggested that I try reading it from that edition, so we bought the kindle version. (It would be cooler to have the actual book, but we didn’t buy that). I did find that I read much more quickly when I didn’t have chapters and verses. Of course, having that speed helped me read it fast enough to finish the challenge. I have to say, I loved the experience of reading it that way (both reading from the original version and reading that quickly). I love how handy the separation of the verses is, but they do seem to take something away from reading the Book of Mormon as a whole.
That’s a good idea. We have one of those Book of Mormons and it might help me to put all the people and places together in my mind better. I think I get hung up on the chapters and verses.
I did it, and I loved it. The story and truths are so straightforward. I won’t be pulling my copy out for deep studying, though–no footnotes.
I bought my replica edition while at BYU- Nauvoo! I would go out to one of the groves Joseph taught in and read it there. It really put the sacrifice of the pioneers into perspective for me. I’m so grateful for those first saints who sacrificed so much so that I could have the Book of Mormon. It has a been a guiding star and a friend when I needed it most.
I wish the church would add verses or some type of numbering to:
General Conference Addresses
The Priesthood/Relief Society manual
It can get so tiresome saying – look at the first full paragraph on page 31, or can you read the paragraph beginning with_____________. And it’s really difficult if some folks are using the conference report from the Ensign and others are using a copy they printed from the Internet!
Institute teachers, and probably many others, print their own copies when teaching from a talk. They break the talk down by numbering the paragraphs, and even format it into two columns so it reads like the scriptures.
We had a new convert over for dinner this afternoon, and spent some time talking about different ways to read/study the Book of Mormon. While I don’t recommend it as the “usual” way to do it, one time I decided to do a “speed” reading. While not quite as quick as Parley P. Pratt, I think I read the whole thing in several weeks instead of several months. You do gain some different insights that way. I particularly noticed how themes tied together, because I hadn’t already forgotten what I’d read at the beginning. I did use the usual chapter/verse version; you’ve convinced me to give an unformatted version a try. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I appreciate your testimony, Mormon Guy. I think I’d like to try reading that replica BOM thing.
Good Sabbath.
Oh wow, I bet that would make the BoM so much easier to read! I’m a voracious reader, but I have a hard time sitting down and reading scriptures, and I realize that it’s probably because of the format. I do it anyways, of course, but sometimes it’s difficult to see the big picture of the full story for all the individual verses.
Hadn’t thought of doing that but now I’m itching to read it that way. I can see a difference in my reading just in the little bit in your photo of it.
I’ve been toying with the idea of having one for the ‘shelf-appeal’. Looks like I need to do it for the reading experience. Thanks for your blog.
My grandmother had one. After she passed, and after we had gone thru all her things, I asked Mom about it. She said it disappeared years ago, and Grandma was very disappointed. It had belonged to her father, and was not a replica. I wish I knew where it ended up. :c
What a fun idea. I have the scriptures in audio, and I think you have the same effect there since they read straight through. I just wish the readers weren’t so stiff.
I know some years ago that Doubleday Book got permission from the Church to release the BoM as a regular book, without the breaks.