Students said the Church’s announcement it is publishing a printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon and photos of a seer stone used by Joseph Smith was surprising but also an opportunity to learn more about the prophet and early Church history.
The Church made the announcement on Aug. 4 and said Joseph Smith used the seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon.
“This release was surprising because it is something members of the Church are not so accustomed to. So although it was quite the surprise, many people I know liked this, and maybe we can expect more things like this to be released,” said Brandon Barron, a sophomore exercise and sport science major from Los Angeles, Calif.
Elder Steven E. Snow of the Quorum of the Seventy, said, “We’re pleased that this document will be available for scholars and members of the Church to review and study as they desire,” during a news conference in the Church History Library.
The publication of the manuscript marks years of collaboration between historians from the Church History Department and the Community of Christ. The Community of Christ was formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and broke off from the LDS Church after the death of Joseph Smith.
The printer’s manuscript had been obtained by the Community of Christ and preserved the record from more than 100 years before granting permission for it to be featured in this volume of the Joseph Smith Papers.
“Having the seer stone and original manuscript released is really amazing because it’s such a huge part of our Mormon culture,” said Alexi Copley, a senior studying ICS from Las Vegas, Nev.
Both the manuscripts and images of the seer stone will be published as part of the Church’s Joseph Smith Papers project. The project has been an ongoing effort to make every document produced by the Church’s founder or his scribes available to the public. Both the stone and manuscript will be part of the 11th published volume of the project titled, “Revelation and Translations, Volume 3: Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon.”
Alex Krohnfeldt, a senior exercise and science major from Newport Beach, Calif., said, “I think the release of the manuscripts and images of the seer stone is fascinating. We learn a lot about all the great things Joseph Smith did and it’s such a testimony builder to be able to see the real thing.”
The volume will feature high-resolution photographs of the manuscript alongside a more easily readable print version of the text.