Welcome to the Maxwell Institute podcast. I'm Joseph Stewart. The Book of Mormon, as Joseph Smith said,

is the keystone of our religion. But what can we learn from looking at the original manuscript of the

Book of Mormon? What can we learn about translation? And what can scholars, Latter-day Saints and Latter-day

Saints scholars, gain from reading the earliest texts available from the original manuscript of the book Mormon.

We'll discuss that today with Robin Scott Jensen, a historian of the Joseph Smith Papers.

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And now our conversation with Dr. Jensen.

Robin Jensen, welcome to the Maxwell Institute podcast.

It's great to be with you.

Glad to have you here.

Now, when do you first remember holding an original copy of the book Mormon?

And what do you remember feeling when you held that book?

That's a good question. It's almost, I've done my work in the Joseph Smith paper started with the

revelations. And so my earliest memories of holding something sacred is the Book of Commandments.

And that's talking about a sacred item to me that is very special. I do not actually remember

the exact moment that I held copy of the first edition of the Book of Mormon, although I do

remember going to the museum there in Salt Lake City. And in the display case, there was an

original leaf of the original Book of Mormon manuscript manuscript. So I didn't hold it. And I was a part

of the Joseph of Papers at the time, but I walked over,

and even through the glass, even though I couldn't hold it,

...