1830 edition

Just after we left Niagara Falls we hurried over to the Buffalo Public Library.  Yes, a big attraction on our list. Why?  Well, we found out through Ryan's cousin that you could go to the rare books section and actually handle a 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.  Most of these first edition books are under glass and not to be handled.  So it was a rare find to actually hold one.  The first printing of the Book of Mormon was in 1830 and 5000 copies were made.

There was no separation of verses in the first edition of the book.  It appeared more how a novel would with just chapters.  It would have been cool to read the book that way.  I understand the need for verses as points of reference but the book is a series of stories and it would have been cool to read it that way.

It was so amazing to see and hold the book.  I wondered whose it was and who read it.  You hear stories of the Book of Mormon's being passed from one person to the next to read.  I wish I could have known who read the book and how it impacted their life.  Were they converted?  Did Joseph Smith himself touch this copy?  I could just feel the history in the book.

They only let two of us in at a time and they wouldn't let the kids in.  However, they did let them in at the end to just look at it and not touch.  The librarian there said this was the most requested rare book to see and he shows it at least once a week.  I was shocked!

This was such a highlight and a rare treat!