The Much Yellowed Paper

The much yellowed paper
Records a distant age
Through a task of labor
Words were placed upon the page

There was no erasure
Only the blotting out
Thoughts had to be premeasured
Can there be any doubt?

I remember learning to type on an old typewriter. To start, I handwrote the paper and transcribed once all the editing was done.  Thankfully there was whiteout!  That only helped if I caught my mistake before proofreading.  Of course, you would read it line by line because you had to predetermine when to stop and go to the next line. I held the white-out strip on top of the paper and retyped the mistake.  Then, I went back and typed the correction on top,.  If I pulled the paper out and a line had to be changed, I had to start all over again!  Writing is so incredibly easy today!

It is interesting to read how hard it was to find someone willing to print this large volume. To print books at the time of the first publishing was extremely time-consuming.  Fifteen years later, the rotary press and an improved type of wood pulp paper would make publishing additional Book of Mormons faster and cheaper.

Where the Book of Mormon Went to Press

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/02/where-the-book-of-mormon-went-to-press?lang=eng

The Book of Mormon Goes to Press

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1972/12/the-book-of-mormon-goes-to-press?lang=eng