Reader comments
Auction house sells 1830 Book of Mormon in 3 minutes

Flipin' Sweet | 6:10 p.m. Dec. 12, 2007

So the winning bidder is really just a rare books flipper who got bored with the California real estate market. Good luck, my friend.

Anonymous | 6:38 p.m. Dec. 12, 2007

Think of the poor children that could have been fed by that money? Someone could have been put through college. Values?

Anonymous | 8:45 p.m. Dec. 12, 2007

would flipping this book for profit be unethical in the Mormon religion?

Comments continue below

Just so you know.... | 9:39 p.m. Dec. 12, 2007

The winning bidder isn't going to turn around and sell it......

dj | 1:35 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

Anonymous, your mother must have told you people were starving in Africa when you didn't eat your spinach.

Max | 5:44 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

There is nothing wrong with this this type of investment. People buy things all the time with the expectation that it will increase in price (e.g. stocks, real estate, commodities, and rare books)

Anonymous | 7:16 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

To "Just so you know...":

Did you even read the article? The buyer "plans to wait a year, then sell the book; he expects the price by then will have risen to $125,000."

reAnonymous | 7:36 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

Don't believe everything that you read.

re anonymous | 8:12 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

So you think he should have spent his money on something to feed the poor? What are YOU doing in that regard??? do you drive a car, which is something you could do without and given that money to the poor?? You could ride a bike, take the bus or even buy and old, beat up car. Likely you did none of these things. We all have things we purchase that are a bit frivolous. Get off this guy's back

Anonymous | 10:42 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

When he bought the book, the money isn't gone. It can still be spent to help the poor if that's what the seller wants to do with it (or pay off their mortgage or whatever).

re anonymous | 10:45 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

How do you know how much this individual gives every year to feed the poor? Stop being so judgmental.

cac | 10:54 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

I would have paid $89,001

Mark, LA | 11:42 a.m. Dec. 13, 2007

I'm pretty sure this is the guy that buys a lot of Mormon antiques. He gives over $2million in charity every year and 10% of his income/investment to his church. Give the poor guy a break...I mean give the rich guy a break.

Values? | 12:29 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

What do you think the auction house did with the money, burn it?
It was not lost, nor wasted.
The buyer and seller traded value.
The buyer will improve the book and keep it safe for someone else enjoy.

Like the money that will be spent on 'cures' for Gore-bal Warming, those dollars will be cycled through productive people many times, benefitting many people (and paying a lot of taxes, too).

Feeding poor children can be a good use of money, too, and will be recycled. How would you have spent it? How would you choose who got to go to college?

Steve | 12:38 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

I bid $89,002

Purple Head | 1:01 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

Dudes, give Anonymous a break...especially 8:12am geez, sounds like you started the day off with a chip on your shoulder. Anyway, I would offer to sell my BofM for $100. Bought it last year and it has never been opened...pretty good deal considering the content is the same. Bidding will begin now.

Carl | 2:59 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

Hey Anonymous--
It is so easy to feed children with other people's money. If it is a concern to you, put up $90k and I will make sure it is spent properly. That is the problem here....if a person earns the money, they can spend it any way they wish. Go earn it and do likewise. But, be quiet about your charity...nobody likes to hear the sounding brass and the tinkling cymbals. It makes us feel badly that we were not so rich as you are. (Actually, we don't even care--just trying to make you feel good about yourself.)

Curtis | 3:51 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

I know the guy and he is a catholic - not LDS

Amber | 3:56 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

It was probably bought by some head of the "Church" so they can change it's original doctrine to match what they are preaching today.

To Amber: | 5:37 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

There is no need to speculate who this person is or what religion he is. Most of us cannot afford to buy a precious piece of church history. Also, Amber whether it was a member of the church, they will not change a thing because what is in the book of mormon today is the exact same thing that is in the original copies of the book. That just goes to show how much you really know about the church doctrine. Same yesterday, today and tomorrow only people change or make choices that are good or bad.

Hi Amber | 6:29 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

No spy stuff, or anything like that.

Just a nice, retired person in So. Cal that has enough $$$ that they really don't care what you think about them or how they spend the money (Has spent more this year on charity than probably all of us will make in our lifetimes), but already has a few and thought it would be a nice legacy for their children to have one for each of them when they pass on to the next life.

The kids will get money, but this means more to the person than all of they money. They earned it, let them do what they want with it.

(Not that I care, just didn't want anyone losing sleep tonight).

Amber | 6:30 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

I'm sorry.

To Amber | 6:54 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

That was sweet.

I'm nominating Amber for the "Des News Nicest, Politest, Post Person Award".

I wish all posters were as nice as you.

Please, have a good evening.

Biblionerd | 9:45 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

So this guy thinks he can flip it in a year for $125K, eh? He must not remember recent history. During the dot com boom, prices for the 1830 went to $100K. Then came the dot com bust and the prices plummeted to $50K and copies were as available as dirt. There are several "collectors" who have a dozen or more of these things squirreled away. When bad times come next year, all these "investors" will try to dump their "investment" and the prices will come right down again.

You want an investment? Buy stocks or real estate. Want a cheap 1830? Wait a year.

Makes me want to sing... | 11:39 p.m. Dec. 13, 2007

"We thank thee oh God for a Profit"

No Changes in the BofM? | 7:55 a.m. Dec. 15, 2007

This is one of the things that is so amazing about Mormonism, its ability to radically change and nobody within the movement seems to recognize it. The LDS Church has drastically altered the content of three of their sacred texts (3,000 in the BofM alone from 1830 to now), doctrines (e.g. plural marriage and priesthood denial to Blacks), and programs (24 month-18 month and back to 24 month missions) and the their members still think nothing has changed! Cogniative dissonance is alive and well in LDS culture. All organizations change. Churches must change, even sects like Mormonism, in order to stay relevant within the dominate society. Change is not always a bad thing, but being honest about it is hard because the members might think God isn't in charge after all if the the Leadership can't seem to get it right the first time.

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