History: First European printing of Book of Mormon
I wrote the following story for the Rupert-based Minidoka County News in July 2007
By LISA DAYLEY
Minidoka County News
As Arlo Lloyd cleaned his late mother-in-law Emma Tracy‘s home, he discovered an unusual looking book scattered among other texts once belonging to Tracy.
“It was just laying on the floor. I picked the book up and took it home,” said Lloyd who serves as the President of the Minidoka County Historical Society.
After taking a closer look at the book, Lloyd discovered the text was an 1851 first European edition printing of the Book of Mormon.
“Nobody in the family ever mentioned the book. Nobody knew much about it,” Lloyd said.
“My mother loved history. I don’t know why she never told us about the book,” said Arlo’s wife Bonnie.
Published by the J. Tompkins Company of Liverpool, England, the first page states the scripture was printed for early Mormon Apostles Brigham Young (later church president), Heber C. Kimball and Parley P. Pratt.
Unlike current Books of Mormon, the old scripture doesn’t number each verse. There are no references to the Bible or other Mormon scripture at the bottom of each page.
Mormon missionaries gave a copy of this Book of Mormon to Bonnie’s great-great-grandmother Hannah Dorcus Tapfield King who quickly converted.
At the time the Mormon Church encouraged its converts to immigrate to Utah, and King was no exception. Her husband, who Hannah called “Mr. King”, didn’t want to go. At the time, Mr. King suffered from severe nosebleeds, but promised Hannah that if the missionaries could cure him, he would emigrate. Family legend says the missionaries gave Mr. King what Mormons call a priesthood blessing, and King was cured.
“His nose bleeds stopped, but he never joined the church,” Bonnie said.
The King family was well to do, and, after selling all their property, they headed west.
“When they got here, they had money to buy the best equipment they could,” Bonnie said.
The family bought two carriages to haul their possessions. While they had the means to get to Utah, the trip was met with challenges. Hannah’s son Thomas Owen became so sick he fell into a coma for 30 days.
“He was very ill. They thought they were going to lose him,” said Bonnie who is Thomas’ great-granddaughter.
Hannah also got in a tiff with her son-in-law. She writes in her journal about his “cutting remarks.” Nobody knows what the problem was other than she and the man didn’t get a long.
Hannah wrote a lot of journals and referred to her daily writings as journalizing.
“She had one for the day, the week and the year,” Bonnie said.
Unlike many diaries of the time, Hannah told it like it was. Whether she was happy or sad, Hannah recorded it in her writings. Hannah noted the changing landscape.
“They are truly called the ‘Rocky Mountains’ for they are in the most part, rocks piled up,” she wrote.
Hannah wasn’t especially happy with her new surroundings.
“Oh, how, I wept for how things changed around me . . . I’m sure few (English) women would dare drive over where I have come. It has shaken my nerves into a muddle,” Hannah recorded.
Ironically, Hannah also complained about complainers.
“I detest a grumbling spirit,” she said.
Yet, Hannah also proved grateful.
“Kindness in a foreign land is doubly valuable. How it calls out the heart with the noblest and best affection,” she wrote.
Once in Utah, Hannah continued to refer to her Book of Mormon. She marked it routinely and at the bottom of one page there reads the following: “Read by order of Brigham Young in the bowery in June 1856.”
“That caught my attention,” Arlo said.
The family believes Brigham Young wrote those words. They compared the signature to one printed in a recent Mormon magazine “The Ensign.”
“It looks an awful lot the same,” Bonnie said.
In the same magazine article, there is a picture of a Book of Mormon identical to the one owned by the Lloyds.
“Brigham Young had a book from the same edition,” Arlo said.
The family’s old Book of Mormon causes quite a stir among both Mormons and non-members.
“It gets a strong reaction,” Arlo said.
“There’s an old smell about it, but there is something else about it too,” Bonnie said.
Arlo loves history and says he greatly enjoys serving as the president of the Minidoka Historical Society.
“We’re dedicated to preserving history and trying to show children and adults what it was like,” Arlo said.
As for the family’s recently discovered Book of Mormon, the family doesn’t know how it stayed in such good condition for so long, but is thrilled to have it.
“It’s a mystery to us that it survived,” Bonnie said.
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