--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Joseph F., Jr. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 10 number: 8 published: 1907-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Joseph F. Smith Jr., "The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon," *Improvement Era* 10, no. 8 (June 1907): 572–576.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera108unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera108unse start_page: 572 end_page: 576 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1907-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera108unse publication_year: 1907 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1907, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Original Manuscript of the Book of Mormon THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. BY JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR. The following from the Saints' Herald of April 24, 1907, is an excerpt from the minutes of the "Reorganite" conference: A question was presented by one individual who stated that he had been told that the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon was in the possession of the Utah Church. In reply, President F. M. Smith made the following statement: The manuscript of the Book of Mormon is in the custody of the presidency, and at the present time is in the hands of the secretary of the presidency, and is in a vault at Independence. The Utah people have not got it. It is quite true that the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon is not in its entirety in the possession of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; it is equally as true that it is 710^ in the custody of the "Reorganized" church, nor in the keep- ing of the secretary of their presidency (F. M. Smith), nor in a vault in Independence, Mo. This is said merely to correct misrepre- sentation, and not with the spirit of controversy. The manuscript which the "Reorganites" for some time have been designating as the original is but the printer's copy which Oliver Cowdary, shortly before his death, gave into the hands of David Whitmer, his fellow witness. After the plates were translated, the Prophet received a com- mandment from the Lord that the entire manuscript should be copied, that the copy should go to the printer, and the original manuscript should not be permitted to go out of his hands. An account of this is given in Lucy Smith's history of the Prophet, (Era edition), pages 142-3, as follows- : ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 573 Soon after this, Joseph secured the copyright ; and before he returned to Pennsylvania, where he had left his wife, he received a commandment, which was in substance as follows First, that Oliver Cowdery should transcribe the whole manuscript; Second, that he should take but one copy at a time to the office, so that if one copy should get destroyed, there would still be a copy remaining; Third, that in going to and from the oflSce, he should always have a guard to attend him, for the purpose of protecting the manuscript; Fourth, that a guard should be kept constantly on the watch, both night and day, about the house, to protect the manuscript from ma- licious persons, who would infest the house for the purpose of destroying the manuscript. All these things were strictly attended to, as the Lord commanded Joseph. The original manuscript was in this manner carefully guarded, and the copy struck off by Oliver Cowdery was used in the print- ing of the Book of Mormon. The original was never in the hai:ids of the printer. David Whitmer was not aware of this command- ment, or had forgotten it, and without doubt, believed that the printer's copy was the original. It was in this light that he prized it. In September, 1878, he was visited by Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith at his home in Richmond, and on that occasion showed them this printer's copy, marked and scarred with the print- er's notes, and was greatly surprised when his attention was called to the fact for the first time, that in his copy all the signatures of the witnesses were in one handwriting, (evidently that of Oliver Cowdery,) when he was most emphatic that each witness had, in the original, signed his own name.The account of this portion of the interview is in the journal of President Joseph F. Smith, as follows: Next day (Sunday, September 8th,) Mr. Whitmer invited us to his house where, in the presence of David Whitmer, Esq.. (son of Jacob), Philander Page, J. R. B. Vancleve, David J. Whitmer, (son of David the Witness), George Schweich, (grandson of David), Colonel Childs and others, David Whitmer brought out the manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. We examined them closely and those who knew the handwriting pronounced the whole of them, excepting com- paratively a few pages, to be in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. It was thought that these few pages were in the handwriting of Emma Smith and John and Christian Whitmer. We found that the names of the eleven witnesses were, however, subscribed in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery. When the question was asked Mr. Whit- mer if he and the other witnesses did or did not sign the testimonies themselves, Mr. Whitmer replied that each signed his own name. 574 IMPRO VEMENT ERA. "Then where are the original signatures?" D. — Whitmer "I don't know, I suppose Oliver copied them, but this I know is an exact copy?'' Joseph F. Smith suggested that perhaps there were two copies of the manu- scripts, but Mr. Whitmer replied that, according to the best of his knowledge, there never was but the one copy. Herein of course, he is evidently uninformed. Quite a number of the elders of the Church have examined the manuscript now in the keeping of the "Reorganization," and all declare that it is most likely, in the main, in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery, and that the signatures of the witnesses are all in thesame handwriting. The question would naturally arise: What became of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon? The answer is simple. The original manuscript remained in the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith and was by his own hand placed in the corner stone of the Nauvoo House, October 2, 1841, in the presenceof numerous witnesses. One of these was Elder Warren Foote, of Glendale, Utah, who recorded in his journal un- der date of October 2, 1841, the following: October 2, 1841. The semi-annual conference commenced today. After meeting was dismissed a deposit was made in the southeast corner of the Nauvoo House. A square hole had been chiseled in the large corner stone like a box. An invitation was given for any who wished to put in any little memento they desired to. I was standing very near the corner stone, when Joseph Smith came up with the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, and said he wanted to put that in there, as he had had trouble enough with it. It appeared to be written on fool's cap paper and was about three inches in thickness. There was also deposited a Book of Doctrine and Covenants, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, fifty cents, and one dollar pieces of American coin, besides other articles. A close fitting stone cover was laid in cement, and the wall built over it. was standing within I three feet of the Prophet when he handed in the manuscript and saw it very plainly. The late Bishop Frederick Kesler of the Sixteenth ward, Salt Lake City, was also present and recorded in his journal that the original manuscript of the Bo )k of Mormon was placed in this cor- ner stone. We have also, in one of the manuscript histories of the Church, under date of December29, 1841, kept by the Prophet's clerk at that time, a list of the articles that were placed in this corner stone, of which the following is a reproduction: >-f .'^^ -/,« —; — ;) 576 IMPRO VEMENT ERA. retary" is a mistake. We trust that he will examine carefully that printer's copy and scrutinize the names of the witnesses and the printer's marks and note the fact that he has deceived himself that he may correct his error and cease to practice this deception on his unsuspecting people. After all, what does it matter what became of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon? It is valueless, save as a relic. The statement has gone forth that the Church offered a large sum for the printer's copy. No such offer was ever made. The Book of Mormon has been translated into more than a dozen lan- guages, and hundreds of thousands of copies have been published at a price so reasonable that it is within the reach of all — the same as that of the original manuscript. If the Prophet had con- sidered the original manuscript of any value as a work of reference, he would not have placed it in the foundation of the Nauvoo House. Salt Lake City, Utah.