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Just in time for Christmas, Greg Kofford Books has just released Don Bradley’s long awaited and greatly anticipated book about the lost first (but incomplete) version of the Book of Mormon. I am thrilled to see this happen, as it is a project Don has poured himself into for a very long time. The value of the research and historical sleuthing here should not be underestimated. Congratulations to Don, longtime friend of our MDB community, and personal friend to a number of us, including Dr. Shades!

The most amazing thing, in my mind, is that there's enough material on this subject to put into a book.

Dr. Shades wrote:The most amazing thing, in my mind, is that there's enough material on this subject to put into a book.

Religious subjects can be expanded infinity it seems, I saw a 12 volume set of books the other day just on the Book of Job.

Here is an Amazon link to to Don's book.

The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories

I hope we can get Philo or Kiskumen to review it. I am interested in it but I would like to hear more about it before spending the money on it. There are so many other books out or coming out that I want, that I have to pick and choose.

Dr. Shades wrote:The most amazing thing, in my mind, is that there's enough material on this subject to put into a book.

The book opens with a discussion of the recovery of the plates, a description of the handling and appearance of the other relics, an account of the so-called Anthon Transcript, and many other interesting things. I assure you that you will encounter an entirely unique and meticulously researched understanding of the earliest phases of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

Now, I will also point out up front that on the whole the book is more congenial to a believer’s point of view.

Does the book give any insight as to how Joseph Smith made up the Book of Mormon we have today?

Exiled wrote:Does the book give any insight as to how Joseph Smith made up the Book of Mormon we have today?

I would say it most definitely does, but it does not lay that out as its specific purpose.

Don emailed me the other day about some questions I had and said this about the book (I don't think he'll mind if I share it):

It's framed within a context of Latter-day Saint belief, but my intent is not to get bogged down in historicity debates but to reconstruct what that missing narrative was. My hope is that non-Latter-day Saint readers will see beneath the surface of the presentation (e.g., Joseph Smith "translating," and such) and see the substance beneath.

grindael wrote:Don emailed me the other day about some questions I had and said this about the book (I don't think he'll mind if I share it):

It's framed within a context of Latter-day Saint belief, but my intent is not to get bogged down in historicity debates but to reconstruct what that missing narrative was. My hope is that non-Latter-day Saint readers will see beneath the surface of the presentation (e.g., Joseph Smith "translating," and such) and see the substance beneath.

Thanks for sharing that, grindael!

Sounds interesting and sounds like Mr. Bradley walked the correct line for book sales if he can generate interest among believers and non-believers. MD&D is also a buzz over this.

Is this the book he was working on when we were all back on Z and prior to MDB coming online?????