First Edition of B of M

Dear Wonderful Family and Friends,
We hope our weekly writing arrives in time for your regular  FHE reading time, and that it finds you all well and blessed.  Our week has been a little different since we have had our Area Directors from Frankfurt, Germany here with us--- although the main events have not changed by them being here, we did take some extra time yesterday to show them around Dublin, with a little more than normal P-day, and the great experience of the Book of Mormon we want to share.

So perhaps that is as good a place as any to start:  Dublin is a very old city and Ireland is a very old country, so as you know there are for example, castles and cathedrals that date much farther back than anything in the U.S.  ---and we made an effort to share some of the heritage with our Directors because this is the first time they have been in Ireland.   One thing we offered to show them was the Book of Kells, the oldest Bible known, which had been carefully copied and ornately decorated by monks in the 800's by the Kells, or the Celtic people of Ireland.  It is on display (you may remember we went to see it in January) in the Trinity University Library which was the first University of Ireland dating from the 1700's.   The line (queue) to see the Book of Kells is very long and a bit pricey, so we also offered to try if we could indeed see the First Edition copy of the Book of Mormon we heard was in their library.  We went into the general student library and made the request.  At first it seemed they would not be able to accommodate us, but having heard it was indeed possible, we pressed the request a  bit more and got an appointment to come back, allowing them time to pull from the shelves for us.

When we returned 1 1/2 hours later, we registered our ID and were shown the way to the old books area, which we joked was a tricky way to  quietly dispose of Mormons and was the real reason they needed time to prepare for us, but after a windy walk down narrow cement hallways and a ride on the creepiest elevator to the 2nd floor, we indeed did arrive at the "Early Printing Collection area.  We showed our request forms and they were prepared.  They handed us a nice looking book shaped box, showed us how to open it, and showed us where we could go to look at it.  It was a real treat!  Unlike anywhere else we know of, they allowed us to hold, read, and photograph the book all we wanted to.  Apparently their collection of books makes a book from 1830, not too incredible, but although they were respectful, few would really know the full value beyond the monetary value, of this wonderful edition.

One thrilling part of holding the first edition of the Book of Mormon, was knowing that although it has been handled by many people since 1830, it originally was held by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1830, and is the original format that the B of M had.  Although the book was not stored in any special environment except a nice protective book-like  box, it was in remarkable condition.   It is bound in a soft, but firm,  light brow leather covering and the pages are quite tan colored with some dark spots, probably oils from handing it. on most pages.  There are no torn or crumpled pages, showing that it was carefully, hopefully reverently, regarded from the beginning.   As you probably know, its printing format is quite different and we took time to notice some details.  We are very grateful for today's heading and footnote referencing, but without designated verses, it reads like a story book, with some chapters, but not nearly as many as today. 

In side the front cover were a few original newspaper clippings describing "Joe Smith" which were also fascinating.  Our feeling upon seeing and handling this precious book was a desire to sit down and just read it like a novel, and explained in our minds how historical stories tell of early converts doing just that, sitting down and reading almost without stopping.  Without being able to explain why, there was an almost tangible feeling of closeness to the writers from Nephi to Mormon and Moroni, and certainly to the Prophet.  It is hard to explain how a book we love to read daily could mean even more to see and hold in its original print form.  We were so grateful for the experience and will send at least some of the many photos we took.  We want to share our testimony of the truth and power of the Book of Mormon.  Our experience was filled with the Spirit bearing witness of the power and truth of this remarkable Second Witness of Christ and his Gospel.  We hope you can feel our love and testimony.

We see that we are running out of time to share our experience in time for FHE so we are going to send this much of our weekly letter now, and send the rest of our week's experiences in a little while.

Love to all....with more to come....
Grandpa and Grandma, Mom and Dad, Lynne and Lanette

 

 Dublin is known for its great beer, but we were so surprised at this Pub's advertisement.  Right now the Championship soccer (they call it football) playoffs are on and getting to the pubs at night that have TV is such a popular pastime.  In places they are even lining up outside the pubs to get in. 

 Ten days ago the our Area Directorsover Self Reliance, the Reuckerts based in Frankfurt,  came to visit for 5 days. We took some in between times to show them some of the historic sites in the Dublin area.  This is Newgrange, an ancient burial and ceremonial site, older than the pyramids.  The mound in the background is the manmade burial dome. 

 This was probably not a chair and cup holder, more likely a drilled hole for wooden posts.

 Wearing ;our missionary clothes didn't give us the option of crawling through the escape tunnel as this an did.

 Grandpa stands near some of the rock structures.  Notice the sunshine   It was raining part of time we were at the site, but really we were lucky with good weather that day.

 There are three very large ceremonial domes, and about 16 smaller domes in this area. 

Polehenge?   Grandma is standing in the sunlight pathway that marks the spring equinox of this ancient used-to-be structure.  They have replaced the original wooden pillars with new pieces, but they think this was built at about the same time as Stonehenge.  Does it remind you of the choices of the 3 Little Pigs?  Which will be longer lasting sticks or bricks?

 Inside the domed mounds are passageways (not allowed in them now)  Interestingly, far down this  passage it intersects with a shorter passage and their layout forms a cross.   This is dated to about 4,000 BC

 Standing on top of the mound we have a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.

 This ship is docked permanently on the River Liffy which goes through the center of Dublin City Center and flows to the sea.  This ship is called a "famine ship" because it was used to transport the suffering victims of the Potato Famine in the 1840's --mostly to the USA and Canada.  This one is particularly famous because its captain was successful in making many journeys and never had a passenger on his ship die. 

 Near to the famine ship is a standing sculpture in memory of the many who died or fled Ireland during the Potato Famine.  It is very well done, impressionistic but hauntingly real and sensitive.

 Book of Mormon, first edition, pages we could see and touch.  Formatting changes through the years to include headings and footnotes to improve our study make it look quite different, and of course we felt the special connection of being able to handle a copy that was also held by the prophet Joseph Smith.    There is no printing on the leather front cover, but on the spine.

 There was a pretty big line waiting to get in to see the Book of Kells, an ancient hand copied and highly decorated (by monks) Bible of Ireland.    Cealtic design (Kells) is very traditional and characteristic of Ireland.

 This is a cousin of Patrick O'Mally that some of you have met.:-)  His name is actually Kim Cooney, a member of the church  from the U.S. We met him in a store and recognizing our name badges, he started a conversation which led to his coming to the Church that same evening and performing some of his religious and Irish music that has been a part of his Ireland tour.  His tour also included doing family history searching ---and being able to watch the famous and dangerous motorcycle races on the Isle of Man

 A few of our English class students along with the Rueckerts at our little flat.  Notice how light it is and it was at least 9:30p.m.  No wonder we forget how late it is!