Book of Mormon with no verses

So, I was interested in what it would be like to have read the Book of Mormon when it was first printed with no verses or chapters. I know you can get facsimiles of the original edition, but I wanted to have the most up-to-date version of the text. Basically, I think the chapters and verses are a great reference tool, but I wondered if they sometimes are constraining, making you think about certain passages in a certain way.

So, I solved the problem myself and created an epub version of the Book of Mormon where each book is nothing but a solid block of text. No chapters, no verses, no cross references, no paragraphs.

I used the Gutenberg Projects text, because it didn't have the chapter headings and was readily available. I think they are pretty good, but I am not precisely sure what edition they used and if there are any mistakes. It is also possible that the process of removing the formatting might have fouled up something (it was some pretty extensive "Find and Replace" work). I have read some of it and everything seems right, but I won't be surprised if something, especially a name, is missing. I wanted to make it available to others who find it interesting. I've only read a bit of it (I'm going to read it through the next time I restart the Book of Mormon) but it does make for a different experience with the text.

you can also download an 1830's version of the book of Mormon off books.google.com, epub version.

I've made a similar document, using the text from the Church's scripture website, so it's the most recent authorized text. I have multiple versions available on my website:

1. One with all the modern punctuation and capitalization

http://nathanrichardson.com/gospel/rede ... rself/#BoM

2. One without any punctuation or capitalization, except for proper nouns (i.e., similar to the original printer's manuscript)

http://nathanrichardson.com/2012/11/the ... unctuation

Nathan000000 wrote:I've made a similar document, using the text from the Church's scripture website, so it's the most recent authorized text. I have multiple versions available on my website:

1. One with all the modern punctuation and capitalization

http://nathanrichardson.com/gospel/rede ... rself/#BoM

2. One without any punctuation or capitalization, except for proper nouns (i.e., similar to the original printer's manuscript)

http://nathanrichardson.com/2012/11/the ... unctuation

Note that the content is likely under copyright and can not be distributed without permission. If you have not already done so, I suggest you read the Rights and Use Information for lds.org

russellhltn wrote:

Nathan000000 wrote:I've made a similar document, using the text from the Church's scripture website, so it's the most recent authorized text. I have multiple versions available on my website:

1. One with all the modern punctuation and capitalization

http://nathanrichardson.com/gospel/rede ... rself/#BoM

2. One without any punctuation or capitalization, except for proper nouns (i.e., similar to the original printer's manuscript)

http://nathanrichardson.com/2012/11/the ... unctuation

Note that the content is likely under copyright and can not be distributed without permission. If you have not already done so, I suggest you read the Rights and Use Information for lds.org

Please note that the text of the Book of Mormon itself is in the public domain. The only copyright issues would involve you using that chapter headings, and the footnotes. If all you are using is the bare text, you should be fine.

reubendunn1 wrote:Please note that the text of the Book of Mormon itself is in the public domain. The only copyright issues would involve you using that chapter headings, and the footnotes. If all you are using is the bare text, you should be fine.

That's mostly true, but the site mentioned in this topic said it used the most current version of the scriptures from LDS.org, which is slightly different from the older public domain versions of the Book of Mormon. It also uses some text from the D&C that is certainly copyrighted. The warning about being careful about copyright law was certainly appropriate (and apparently has been ignored by the owner of that site).

aebrown wrote:

reubendunn1 wrote:Please note that the text of the Book of Mormon itself is in the public domain. The only copyright issues would involve you using that chapter headings, and the footnotes. If all you are using is the bare text, you should be fine.

That's mostly true, but the site mentioned in this topic said it used the most current version of the scriptures from LDS.org, which is slightly different from the older public domain versions of the Book of Mormon. It also uses some text from the D&C that is certainly copyrighted. The warning about being careful about copyright law was certainly appropriate (and apparently has been ignored by the owner of that site).

As long as the footnotes, and chapter headings that Elder McConkie wrote are omitted, then he should be fine. I'd recommend checking out that link before signing off on copyright infringement.

reubendunn1 wrote:As long as the footnotes, and chapter headings that Elder McConkie wrote are omitted, then he should be fine. I'd recommend checking out that link before signing off on copyright infringement.

I certainly don't want to get in a legal debate, and by no means am I "signing off on copyright infringement." But it seems to me that the only safe way to make sure you are using public domain content is to start with public domain content. It's risky to start with copyrighted content and then hope that you're omitting every bit of specialized copyright content, leaving only the public domain content. In regard to the Book of Mormon content, RussellHltn and I are simply raising a warning voice, since Nathan000000 clearly stated that he started with copyrighted content. Ultimately, it's up to him to make sure that he is completely compliant with relevant laws.

As for the D&C content, I note that other sources carefully omit Official Declaration 2, since it was published after 1923 and is copyrighted. And yet on Nathan000000's site, he posts a version of the D&C content that includes Official Declaration 2. In my view, that's a clear violation of copyright law and the Rights and Use Information for lds.org. But again, Nathan000000 has the responsibility to comply with the law.

davea0511 wrote:you can also download an 1830's version of the book of Mormon off books.google.com, epub version.

Would love to find that version of the Book of Mormon. I really want to read it without the chapter headings and footnotes. Would love to listen to it without them as well.

Is there a link you can provide?

hbruner wrote:

davea0511 wrote:you can also download an 1830's version of the book of Mormon off books.google.com, epub version.

Would love to find that version of the Book of Mormon. I really want to read it without the chapter headings and footnotes. Would love to listen to it without them as well.

Is there a link you can provide?

Here are a few links to scans of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon:
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper ... mon-1830/1
https://archive.org/details/BookOfMormon18301Palmyra
https://archive.org/details/bookofmormonacco1830smit

aebrown wrote:As for the D&C content, I note that other sources carefully omit Official Declaration 2, since it was published after 1923 and is copyrighted. And yet on Nathan000000's site, he posts a version of the D&C content that includes Official Declaration 2. In my view, that's a clear violation of copyright law and the Rights and Use Information for lds.org. But again, Nathan000000 has the responsibility to comply with the law.

As a fun fact, Official Declaration 2 will enter the public domain [see correction that follows].

In my previous post I got the dates mixed up. Official Declaration 2 isn't set to enter the public domain until January 1st, 2074 (assuming copyright law in the United States remains the same until then).