Comments about ‘Joseph Smith's Bible for sale at $1.5 million’

That's alot of money to be asking for a Bible - even if it did belong to Joseph and Emma Smith. Maybe half that amount would be somewhat "reasonable". I just see "greed" written all over the asking price.

Well, it is a lot of money, and frankly I think the book is NOT WORTH THAT MUCH MONEY. It is almost to the point of Extortion. If it was the "Translated Bible" with the Joseph Smith Revisions, it would be worth the money, but it is not, it's just another Joseph Smith Family Relic, and never should have been sold by his family!

Cougar Keith....could this not be the bible that his parents gave him and hence it is the bible from which he read in James 1:5? If so...it might be worth something..no?

No, it was bought in 1831, so it is not the one he read James, 1:5 out of but it would be nice if it were!

Yo, don't people know that they have free copies in every hotel room in the world? I guess there truly is a sucker born every minute.

It would be interesting to have it displayed somewhere so anyone interested could see it, but it's alot of money and will attract negative publicity for the church.

There is nothing wrong with trying to get the highest price. There is no "extortion" going on here. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy it. Most people when they buy a house or a car they try to get the lowest possible price and when they sell they try to get the highest price. If you think it is over priced, my advice is not to buy it.

It's interesting how the charge of "greed" always pops up in a conversation where money is involved. The bible is "worth" how much one is willing to pay for it...nothing less, nothing more.

Did Hofmann ever own it?

It is not the church who is selling this Bible. It is a private owner. And as far as price it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. That price is pocket change for very wealthy people.

There is a similar King James (F)amily Bible in the curio museum in Riverside, Wyoming. They will allow visitors to handle the book. This King James Version (prior to 1865) still contains the protestant apocrypha and answers the question as to why Joseph Smith inquired about its retranslation.

This Bible is WAY over priced. I'll be surprised if they can get it. I doubt it has any particular significance beyond its provenance. I'm really glad the Church isn't going to waste any money acquiring it.

The real translation of the papyrus would be interesting.

Max & Weber State are right. Some of you need to relax. If no one buys the Bible at that price, then it's not worth that price. The owner can ask whatever he thinks it will bring and if he's wrong, he'll retain ownership.

If someone pays the asking price then it is not overpriced. Of course it is greed but if you owned it wouldn't you want to get the highest price possible?

This is not intended as a snarky comment.

Is there any way to know whether Mark Hoffman had any contact or involvement with this Bible?

Price is in the eye of the beholder, What an amazing historic find. I would pay the price. But then I think it is worth the price. What is the differnece between saying this piece of history comes with a large price tag and a book owned by Winston Church Hill during World War II has a large price tag. The buyer decides the worth...

I would pay $1.5 mil for a bible narrated by Clint Eastwood.

I can see why the Church would not be overly interested in purchasing this Bible. It is only an historic curiosity, not a document that helps to preserve some aspect of Church history. It is similar to collected autographs, and the Church already owns representations of the prophet's handwriting. It is a shame that the family sold this personal treasure. I have an old family Bible with family history in their own handwriting. It is precious to me because it was precious to them. To anyone else, it is just another Bible, only older and harder to read. Good luck to whoever is trying to sell it. It would be a wonderful gesture if someone were to buy it and donate it back to the Smith family, where its value would be most appreciated.

A good ol' test of this bible to the dead sea scrolls would tell if this was an original King James Version or the Joesph Smith Translation. I left the LDS church in 2004 and gave myself to Christ that year, and I have found that yes, there are a few corrupt translations, but many of them compare to the original greek manuscripts. They mostly all say the same thing, just with different styles of writing and grammar. Good translations, King James Version, Darby, New King James Version. Bad translations, New Living Translation, New International Version, The Message, Joseph Smith Translation.