He said a woman came into his store just last week with two copies of the Book of Mormon reputed to have been owned by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Diamond believes the Elvis Book of Mormon to be genuine. He said Alan Osmond has a certificate of authenticity for it. However, Diamond is working with a handwriting expert in hopes of bolstering its authenticity.

Grant A. Anderson, church history specialist in the LDS Archives, confirmed the archives do have a book reputed to be Elvis Presley's, a 1976 edition common in its day.

"All we know is what has been told to us," Anderson said. He stressed that the book's history of transfer looks consistent and logical, but the church has conducted no handwriting tests on it.

Anderson said the church has copies of early Book of Mormon editions, but it is not common to have celebrity-owned copies like this.

Alan Osmond told the Morning News in an e-mail that he did receive the Elvis Book of Mormon from Cricket Butler.

"I interviewed her on cassette tape, had her sign a letter of authenticity and saw pictures of her with Elvis. She said Elvis had talked about the Osmonds and would have wanted us to have it. We had a private barbecue scheduled by Elvis at his house a couple of weeks after he died. We also knew him, met him, conversed with him and have had personal conversations with him."

Regarding the Book of Mormon's transfer to the church, Osmond said: "I did give the book to the LDS Church via my wife's cousin, Elder Rex Pinegar (now an emeritus member of the Seventy). This was for safety's sake, to protect Elvis' privacy, and to preserve the sacredness of this book! Several people that knew I had it were too anxious to see it and touch it. So I put it in a very safe place — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (archives)."

Former Salt Lake City police forensics expert George Throckmorton said he hasn't seen the book but understands there may actually be two separate "Elvis Books of Mormon" out there.

Diamond said Elvis apparently received another copy from the late Ed Parker, who was his karate instructor and bodyguard.

---

E-mail: lynn@desnews.com