Five Little Known Facts about the Publication of the Book of Mormon

1. The first portions of the Book of Mormon available to the public were pirated.
Using E. B. Grandin’s printing office in the evenings and on Sundays, Palmyra newspaperman Abner Cole printed a newspaper that caused some stir in the neighborhood. Cole felt called to spread enlightened thought to Americans. Writing under the pseudonym of Obediah Dogberry, he presented to his readers the first chance to read portions of the Book of Mormon. First Nephi, chapter 1; parts of First Nephi, chapter 2; and parts of Alma, chapter 43 were published in three of his January 1830 issues.
When the Smith family learned that Cole was printing unauthorized excerpts from the Book of Mormon, they sent for Joseph Smith, who was living in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Joseph Smith successfully convinced Cole to stop pirating the text, but the excerpts printed in Cole’s Reflector still represent the first time any Book of Mormon text was available to the public.

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