****UPDATE: A new edition created from the 2013 revised edition of the scriptures is available here. Also, all four standard works are now available! Check it out!****
At the bottom of this post you’ll find a link for a PDF copy of the Wide Margin Edition of the Book of Mormon, a perfect gift for a student, missionary, or family member!
The Story Behind the Project:
As a missionary in Minnesota, my mission president encouraged us to take 10 days and study the Book of Mormon deeply and intensely, and write down every thought in the margins. We spent one day on each of the first ten pages of the Book of Mormon. It was awesome: looking up every reference, thinking about the meaning of words, considering parallel ideas and themes. I continued this for the rest of my mission, at a slightly quicker pace, and spent 8 months going through it a couple hours a day. This old copy is one of my most prized posessions. The only problem? Not enough margin space. I looked into getting the super-huge print edition, but there were still tiny margins to write in. What I dreamed of was a copy with HUGE margins. But alas, none existed.
A few years after my mission, I started thinking about how I could do this. On my first attempt I took a copy of the BoM meant for day planners, and photocopied each page onto a full 8.5×11 page. It took way too long, and was not easily reproducable. A few years later, I found the official PDF version put out by the Church and wondered, could I use Acrobat to modify the PDF and make a HUGE margin edition that I could share and reprint when needed? Oh yeah.
So I increased the text size a little, and added huge margins, then printed out a bunch of copies for myself, my family, and several missionaries that I knew out in the field. I loved it, and then I began wondering how I could get this out to the general public. And could I make some money for producing these? It only costs $5 to bind and put covers on it at the UPS store, but the printing costs would probably be so much that I couldn’t make a profit off of it. So I scapped the idea. Then I thought, “Well, I have that old website, why don’t I post it on there for everyone?”
So here it is. A PDF copy of the Wide Margin Edition of the Book of Mormon. Print the PDF, double-sided, on a laser printer, or take it to a copy and print shop and have them print it for you. Spiral bound it so it lays flat. Then mark it up to your heart’s desire. It becomes more personal and deep than any other scripture study method that I’ve ever tried. I hope it works for you, and if it does, please leave a comment and tell me how you’ve enjoyed it.
The PDF File:
Download the Book of Mormon – Wide Margin Edition by right-clicking on this link, then selecting “Save Target As…” Or you can just click on it normally and use Acrobat Reader to save a copy to your computer. Enjoy!