The first edition of the Book of Mormon was printed in 1829 by E.B. Grandin of Palmyra, publisher of the Wayne County Sentinel. Grandin at first refused to publish the book because of widespread social disapproval, but when approached a second time and promised the money from Martin Harris, who was willing to mortgage his farm for the sum, Grandin agreed to take on the project. He charged $3,000 for 5,000 copies, evidently including "the social cost" as well, according to Hugh G. Stocks in his 1979 University of California-Los Angeles master's thesis, "The Book of Mormon, 1830-1879, a Publishing History."Grandin purchased a small pica type font and began the project Aug. 29, 1829, under the direction of the Three Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. A compositor evidently punctuated and set the paragraphs while setting the type. It took about three days to set type for each sheet. Shortly after the project began, Abner Cole, who published a newspaper, the Reflector, at the same press, illegally copied pages of the Book of Mormon and printed them, desisting only when Joseph Smith himself came and asserted his copyright.
The Book of Mormon was completed March 26, 1830, just a few days before the Church was organized April 6. It contained the title page and testimony of the three and eight witnesses as they are today.