"It is well known that Elvis Presley was a devout Christian who had deep religious convictions despite his personal weaknesses and struggles with a Hollywood lifestyle that was thrust upon him at an early age," Starling said. "What is lesser known is that he reportedly met on several occasions with missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that he studied carefully the Book of Mormon."

Much of his life and career will be retold in flashback sequences in the movie.

"I spent many months pouring my soul into the screenplay," Diamond told the Deseret Morning News. "The Book of Mormon changed my life as a young man, and I believe this movie will help people understand that it did the same for Elvis in the latter days of his life."

However, Diamond stressed, "this movie is not about preaching to people. It's a universal story about a wonderful man who was very misunderstood."

Diamond said the movie explores many areas of Elvis' life and will be entertaining and enlightening for all, regardless of religion.

"The Book of Mormon provides the pearls of wisdom and hope that hold the film together," he said. "Beyond the book, there are many other aspects of Elvis' life that we explore in the story. There are some beautiful musical performances as well, but the film focuses on Elvis' spiritual journey first, personal relationships second and music third.

"The 'chain of evidence' is pretty well documented to show that the book was indeed owned by Elvis," Diamond said.

According to Starling, LDS Church archives officials did not allow the film crew to take the book from its facility, but they were allowed to bring their cameras there and film in a room set aside for them.

"We shot inserts of Matt Lewis in costume reading the book. These shots will be inserted into scenes we shot in the studio in Orem," Starling said.

He also stressed the research done for the film. The movie crew videotaped an interview with Bobby Kauo, who gave the LDS missionary discussions to Elvis when Presley was in Hawaii to film "Paradise Hawaiian Style."

Genuine or fake?

Ken Sanders, who owns Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City, said the Elvis book could easily be worth $5,000 to $10,000, if it is indeed authentic. That's pretty good for a soft-cover Book of Mormon of that period, generally worth $5 to $6.

He said $100,000 is the most any early Book of Mormon has been worth to date. However, Sanders said he remains skeptical the book was truly Elvis'.

"All my initial instincts are it's a forgery," he said, after examining four pictures showing pages from the book.

Sanders' philosophy is a book is a fake until proven genuine. He also believes more handwriting samples would have to be available from the book to test it thoroughly enough.