An original 1830 edition, on display in the Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hampshire
Photo Credit Beverly Neville
Some people are not aware there are various editions of the Book of Mormon in use today.
The first edition printed in 1830 was divided into chapters and paragraphs but not numbered verses. This format was retained in the 1837 and 1840 editions revised by Joseph Smith, Jr.
When they prepared their edition, the RLDS church used those same chapters but inserted numbered verses. They made other edits in 1874, 1917 and 1966, but retained the same chapter and verse divisions in the Revised Authorized Version in use today by the Community of Christ.
Orson Pratt made many changes for an 1879 edition in Salt Lake City, dividing the original long chapters into smaller chapters and creating short numbered verses. He also added many explanatory footnotes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made various edits over the years but still uses the chapter and verse format created by Orson Pratt.
As a result, these two religious groups who cite Book of Mormon scriptures today refer to different chapters and verses. The Museum’s editorial policy is to give scripture citations for both editions, noting them as [LDS] and [RLDS], the most common notation styles currently in use.
For example, Nephi’s famous declaration, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded . . .” is found in 1 Nephi 3:7 [LDS] and 1 Nephi 1:65 [RLDS].