Journal of Discourses Volume 1 Study Edition

It is extremely difficult to find a copy of the Journal of Discourses to buy. The best I have found is $300 for the complete set used on eBay, but most people probably don't want to pitch for the whole set at once. Also, as historic books, one would be less inclined to make notations in it while studying, so I have spent the last day or two creating a new edition of the Journal of Discourses, Volume I. For anyone interested, it is available for purchase here:

Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1

You can also preview the contents to see how I've done.

This edition of the Journal of Discourses is blessed with wide outside and bottom margins for easier note-taking. It has been repaginated to accommodate this format while retaining a plain round type that aged persons can read with ease. The traditional page numbers are notated within square brackets at the place in the text where the original page commenced.

The text for this edition has been obtained from various public domain electronic text editions available on the Internet, and whenever any part of the text has been questioned, it has been compared and corrected based on scanned pages from the original printing, currently available in the Online Collections at BYU (www.lib.byu.edu).

We hope to release the remaining volumes of the Journal in this format in the near future so that this great collection of sermons, so influential in the development of Mormonism, may continue to be available at an affordable price to all who desire to read its words.

For those who haven't heard of this set before, here are some excerpts from the original introduction:

It affords me great pleasure in being able to put in your possession the words of the Apostles and Prophets, as they were Spoken in the assemblies of the Saints in Zion, the value of which cannot be estimated by man, not so much for any great display of worldly learning and eloquence, as for the purity of doctrine, simplicity of style, and extensive amount of theological truth which they develop.

To those who are unacquainted with the Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are mantled in the darkness of ages, whose minds are sunk in the almost impenetrable shades of error, uncertainty, and doubt, but who sincerely desire to know the truth, these Sermons will prove a source of light, information, and joy. And, according to the vocation which belongs to the Eternal Priesthood, all authorized ministers of God will hail their publication with gladness, for such an embodiment of doctrine will greatly accelerate the grand object they have in view—the salvation of souls, the instruction of Saints, and the building up of Zion in the last days.

Particularly to the Elders who are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, far from those who alone can instruct them in the more exalted branches of the Everlasting Gospel, these Sermons will be most valuable, as a gauge of doctrine, a rule of rectitude, and a square to life, furnishing at the same time an extensive repository of historical information.

It is apparent that the original intent of the Journal was to serve as a tool for missionary work, as an introduction to the Latter-day Saint religion, in addition to its place as a resource for members of the Church to study. I agree that everyone should have a copy in their homes, and there are now several ways to do that: Find an ebook edition, buy a full set from eBay, or buy the one I just put together.

I'm planning on doing the remaining volumes as I find time, provided at least one person has interest in this project. ;)