Our New Edition

Thanks to our friends Mike and Pam Hannan, we are thrilled to have a rare 1841 first European edition of the Book of Mormon on display at the London Temple Visitors' Centre.  Through a special arrangement  with the Church History Department in Salt Lake City, they hand-delivered the book to us on their recent visit.  The book was printed in Liverpool by John Tompkins at the request of Apostles Brigham Young and John Taylor, who were serving in the area.

We are honored to have this historic edition of the Book of Mormon on permanent loan at our Visitors' Centre. I love showing the book to people who come into the Centre. It's interesting to me to consider the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England and the strength and the vision of the early apostles as they worked to provide copies of the Book of Mormon for those who were interested.

This "new edition" to our Visitors' Centre complements two of our other exhibits -- the Book of Mormon display, and our new exhibit on The History of the Church in the British Isles -- and gives our missionaries new opportunities to explain the book and witness of its truths and importance.

There are lots of good things happening around here lately. One experience I had a couple of weeks ago caught me by surprise. I received a call from a BBC reporter who wanted an LDS response to the Book of Mormon Musical playing in downtown London.  She also wanted to discuss Mormon beliefs in a half-hour interview at the Visitors' Centre. I was concerned whether I was the right person to handle such an interview - and a little scared - so I contacted Rowland Elvidge, Director of Public Affairs for the UK. He said to go ahead with the interview but suggested we also invite Annabelle Grifffiths, public affairs representative from nearby Maidstone Stake, to participate.  It was good advice and gave me more confidence.  Despite the risks, it turned out to be a great experience.  You can listen to the interviews that aired on two consecutive Sunday mornings by downloading the links below to Windows Media Player.

BBC Broadcast #1:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/z7u3ythe3ezwyuy/D%20BBC%20Radio%20Surrey%20Sussex%2028%20April%202013%202.mp3 

BBC Broadcast #2:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3r99nmyigc2i1s/D%20BBC%20Radio%20Surrey%20Sussex%2028%20April%202013%203.mp3

It's a blessing for Pat and I to be able to participate in this great work here in southern England.           ~Don~