Thinline Edition of the Book of Mormon

About

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. To learn more, see ComeUntoChrist.org.

Over the years, I've created this new edition of the Book of Mormon as a personal study project. It has the same text as the official LDS edition, but with modern formatting inspired by the NIV Bible.

The text is organized into paragraphs, with verse numbers as superscripts. Chapter headings have been replaced by section headings within the text. Quote marks have been added to indicate dialog and citation of scripture. Poetry, lists, prayers, and other literary elements have special typesetting. All footnotes have been removed, and page headings have been simplified. Some of the capitalization and punctuation choices have been modernized.

The complete PDF is available as a free download. If you have questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Sample Pages

In contrast to other editions that have been organized into paragraphs, this edition uses a traditional two-column format. The page size is 6"x9", which makes the book lightweight and easy to take with you. The main text is set in Palatino 9-point font.

Related Projects

I'm certainly not the only one to have reformatted the Book of Mormon. Here are links to other recent editions of which I'm aware:

The Book of Mormon for Latter-Day Saint Families

By Thomas R. Valletta. Published by Deseret Book in 1999.

"This beautifully bound book contains the full text of the Book of Mormon in large type and an easy-to-read design. In the footnotes of this indispensable volume, hard-to-understand words are defined in simple terms, important concepts are explained and developed, and questions to ponder and discuss are asked of young readers."

The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition

By Grant Hardy. Published by University of Illinois Press in 2005.

"This new reader-friendly version reformats the complete, unchanged 1920 text in the manner of modern translations of the Bible." Hardy has done an amazing job annotating the text with section and subsection headings, paragraphs, quote marks, typeset poetry, and many other features. The introduction and appendixes are an excellent study resource.

Mormon's Book: A Reader's Edition

By Michael A. Cleverly. Self-published in 2005.

"Mormon's Book contains the complete text (word for word) of The Book of Mormon retypeset into paragraph form (rather than divided into chapters and verses). Additionally quotations from Isaiah (i.e., in Second Nephi) are typeset in a poetic-form." This edition omits chapter and verse numbers and focuses instead on the flow of the narrative.

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Official trade edition. Published by Doubleday in 2006.

This is the first edition of the Book of Mormon to be published commercially, making it available for sale in bookstores. The formatting is crisp and professional looking, and the cover and paper are of high quality. Doubleday published this edition by special arrangement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text

By Royal Skousen. Published by Yale University Press in 2009.

For over twenty years, Skousen has lead the Critical Text Project at BYU. This edition is the result of his careful scholarship to recover, as much as possible, the original dictation of Joseph Smith based on the earliest available manuscripts. It is formatted into sense-lines and paragraphs, and it includes an introduction by Grant Hardy.

The Book of Mormon Study Guide: Start to Finish

By Thomas R. Valletta. Published by Deseret Book in 2015.

"Following the Book of Mormon from beginning to end, this comprehensive, question-and-answer commentary draws from thousands of the very best insights on the scriptures..." Valletta also published a Revised Edition published in 2019.

The Book of Mormon: Reader's Edition

By Benjamin Crowder. Self-published in 2017.

"For this reader's edition, I've removed the verse numbers, reparagraphed the text, and reorganized the chapters according to the first edition (with two or three small exceptions)." Crowder has released a number of other editions and formats of the LDS scriptures on his website.

A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon

By Lynn A. Rosenvall and David L. Rosenvall. Self-published in 2017.

"Experience the Book of Mormon anew. Reformatting changes everything. Organized by events emphasizing narrators, speakers, locations, dates and quoted passages." This edition offers a unique presentation of the text, with current speakers listed in the left margin and events, locations, and dates listed in the right margin.

The Book of Mormon: Journaling Edition

By Emily and Alexis, Line Upon Line, Co. Self-published in 2018.

"The wide margins on every page are perfect for taking notes, recording insights, and even creating art!" The authors have a number of other products on their website, including a Study Edition and Primary Edition.

License

Thinline Edition © 2019 by Chris Mayfield. All rights reserved. Text of the Book of Mormon © 1981, 2013 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Used with permission.

The text of this edition is licensed with the following disclaimer: The product offered by Chris Mayfield is neither made, provided, approved, nor endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or opinions expressed, implied, or included herein or herewith are solely those of Chris Mayfield and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My hope and intent in typesetting the Book of Mormon is that people will better understand its message and appreciate the depth and complexity of its narrative. For many years, the Book of Mormon has greatly strengthened my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His latter-day work, as have the Old and New Testaments, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These volumes of scripture truly contain the words of eternal life.