A first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon, published in 1830 in Palmyra, N.Y., has been loaned by the Church Historical Department to a museum in Ithaca, N.Y.
The book will be displayed in a special exhibit on religions in Ithaca's Hinckley Foundation Museum, recognized as one of the top historical museums in the Finger Lakes region."We're delighted to have our Church represented in this exhibit," said Richard Oman, senior curator at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City. "Since the Finger Lakes region is the area where the Church was founded and organized, it gives us an opportunity to display many of our early historical artifacts."
The Hinckley Foundation Museum was founded by an early railroad builder and is funded by his estate. Museum director Lori Abbott-Herrick made the arrangements for the loan of the first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon and other LDS items.
Other items loaned by the Church to the Hinckley Museum are framed photographs by pioneer photographer George Edward Anderson and a painting by pioneer artist C.C.A. Christensen. Anderson's photos are entitled, "The Smith Farm, Palmyra," "The Peter Whitmer Farm" (Fayette, N.Y.), "The Sacred Grove" (near Palmyra), and "The Thayer and Grandin Buildings" (Palmyra).
The Christensen painting is entitled, "Moroni Delivers the Plates," an illustration of Joseph Smith receiving the ancient records from which the Book of Mormon was translated.
In addition, the Church's visitors center in Palmyra, N.Y., loaned the museum a bust, "The Three Witnesses."