Last week, I had the opportunity to go to a Special Collections lecture in the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. Russ Taylor, the department chair of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, gave the lecture. He discussed the history of print starting from clay tablets in Mesopotamia to the printing press and books that have pictures painted on the edges of its pages. He showed us examples of papyrus, bronze plates, medieval manuscripts, and printed bible manuscripts. In one lecture, he showed us the entire history of print—at least 4000 years crammed into a room in Provo Utah. It is amazing to think how much information we have.
By happen-chance I’ve learned much about printing. My second semester here at BYU, I took a calligraphy class. We discussed many of the different writing styles through-out the centuries, the different writing materials such as velum and paper, also different types of ink. I am fully aware of the time and energy hand-written documents take. I spent many hours trying to correct my flourishes and my serifs. Also as a student in Jerusalem, we talked about papyrus and stone carving. Just today, I was reading about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the new knowledge which their discovery brought. I’ve also been to a printing museum where they too, show the history of the printing press.
What does this mean? Written word impacts our lives without us ever thinking about it. How easy is it for us to go online to look at blogs and newspapers? Where is the nearest library? How many books do you have in your house? We are so accustomed to printed materials that we don’t think about the historical times when print was not accessible. Even 150 years ago, printing was expensive and hard to come by, but not anymore. We live in a revolutionary world where newspapers are going bankrupt and anybody can have a worldwide audience through the internet.
I read at least 3 hours every day and that is only homework not including the newspaper, books, magazines, or email. I don’t remember when I didn’t read or couldn’t write. It has always been important and it will always be important. It is hard for me to conceive of a time when people were not able to read or when books were not available to everyone. Books are powerful because they hold knowledge. Ancient or modern, print preserves culture and history which help us understand who we are and where we are going. But how often do we use it? In another class of mine, a professor was ranting and raving, like many of them do, about the fact that we don’t access information which only 20 years ago was so difficult to discover. Of course I was disinterested as he lectured on his hobby horse, but it is true. We, the children of the information age do not use what is at our finger tips. How lucky we are to have the printed word.
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, October 26, 2009
Print and Power
I went to the Crandall Printing Museum this week. It is on center street here in Provo. I've heard about it over and over again while I've attended BYU. I always wanted to go, and I finally went. Take a look at the website:
http://crandallmuseum.org/
In this museum they have three printing presses. They have a working replica of the Gutenberg press, Benjamin Franklin’s press, and a press that E.B. Grandin used to print the Book of Mormon.
We first watched a demonstration of Gutenberg’s press. Beginning with a demonstration on how he made his movable type. The museum explained that Gutenberg was a metallurgist. This is how he knew what metals to mix so that he could get a good metal combination to make his movable type. They printed a page from the Vulgate bible. I am a Latin student, not a very happy one after my test today, and it was interesting to see a replica of the Vulgate Bible. I’ve also taken a calligraphy class, and I understand what amount of work it takes to produce a illuminated bible. Printers makes my life so easy.
Next we moved to the Benjamin Franklin Room where the replica of Franklin’s press was located. There was also a replica of Franklin himself, one of the curators dressed up. They discussed the power that printing had in the colonies. Franklin was able to print some 500,000 copies of Paine's "Common Sense." When he did this, there were only two million colonists living in America. That means one out of every four colonists living in America had a copy of "Common Sense." I don’t know of any kind of literature today that would represent that type of dissemination. The Museum argued that without the press the American Revolution would have never occurred, saying that the printed word unified the colonists. After learning one in four Americans had a “Common Sense” I believe them.
Lastly, we saw a replica press that printed the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith went to the E.B. Grandin Print Shop which, as I learned, was the most modern printing press avaliable in the 1820's. For Joseph Smith to have such a modern press so close is remarkable. The museum showed us the entire process of printing the Book of Mormon-- from pressing the sheets, to hanging them, to stitching the binding together. The museum noted that E.B. Grandin, the printer, printed 5,000 books in seven months. This, I guess, was extremely fast for that time period because the printers reset a new page of the Book of Mormon every two minutes. It was incredible that they printed that many books that fast.
I was thinking how lucky I am to have books. Every day I read the newspaper, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I read things on the internet, about Roman history, about American history. I even am reading Livy. I read ALL the time. We take books and printed material for granted. But are we grateful for the chance to read?
My wife is a High School Teacher. When she began to teach, she was surprised that the reading comprehension of her students. She would say many basic words like synopsis and summary, and they did not know the meanings of these words. Howeever, when we learn to read it changes everything. We gain power because we control what we learn. We gain power because we can spread ideas, concepts, and principles. Without the ability to read and write, we wanderer through life.
http://crandallmuseum.org/
In this museum they have three printing presses. They have a working replica of the Gutenberg press, Benjamin Franklin’s press, and a press that E.B. Grandin used to print the Book of Mormon.
We first watched a demonstration of Gutenberg’s press. Beginning with a demonstration on how he made his movable type. The museum explained that Gutenberg was a metallurgist. This is how he knew what metals to mix so that he could get a good metal combination to make his movable type. They printed a page from the Vulgate bible. I am a Latin student, not a very happy one after my test today, and it was interesting to see a replica of the Vulgate Bible. I’ve also taken a calligraphy class, and I understand what amount of work it takes to produce a illuminated bible. Printers makes my life so easy.
Next we moved to the Benjamin Franklin Room where the replica of Franklin’s press was located. There was also a replica of Franklin himself, one of the curators dressed up. They discussed the power that printing had in the colonies. Franklin was able to print some 500,000 copies of Paine's "Common Sense." When he did this, there were only two million colonists living in America. That means one out of every four colonists living in America had a copy of "Common Sense." I don’t know of any kind of literature today that would represent that type of dissemination. The Museum argued that without the press the American Revolution would have never occurred, saying that the printed word unified the colonists. After learning one in four Americans had a “Common Sense” I believe them.
Lastly, we saw a replica press that printed the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith went to the E.B. Grandin Print Shop which, as I learned, was the most modern printing press avaliable in the 1820's. For Joseph Smith to have such a modern press so close is remarkable. The museum showed us the entire process of printing the Book of Mormon-- from pressing the sheets, to hanging them, to stitching the binding together. The museum noted that E.B. Grandin, the printer, printed 5,000 books in seven months. This, I guess, was extremely fast for that time period because the printers reset a new page of the Book of Mormon every two minutes. It was incredible that they printed that many books that fast.
I was thinking how lucky I am to have books. Every day I read the newspaper, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. I read things on the internet, about Roman history, about American history. I even am reading Livy. I read ALL the time. We take books and printed material for granted. But are we grateful for the chance to read?
My wife is a High School Teacher. When she began to teach, she was surprised that the reading comprehension of her students. She would say many basic words like synopsis and summary, and they did not know the meanings of these words. Howeever, when we learn to read it changes everything. We gain power because we control what we learn. We gain power because we can spread ideas, concepts, and principles. Without the ability to read and write, we wanderer through life.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Marvelous Work
“Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.” Doctrine and Covenants 4:1.
In the revelations to Joseph Smith, the Lord repeats this sentence many times. At a glance, I saw four different sections that started with this sentence. Why is it so important?
As we’ve been discussing in one of my religion classes, “the marvelous work which” was “about to come forth” was the Book of Mormon. Many people find it wrong that we, being Christians, read the Book of Mormon. They feel that since we have the Book of Mormon, we ignore the Bible, but that simply isn’t true. We read both of them. Here are some reasons why I read and cherish the Book of Mormon along with the Bible.
1. The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ.
a. Have you ever wondered if Christ really lived? Was he really the Son of God? When you read the Book of Mormon along with the Bible, you discover that Christ really lived. You learn that He is the Savior of the World. You come to understand His Atonement, and it allows you to feel it in your life today. The Book of Mormon as I have read it with the Bible has strengthened my personal testimony of Jesus Christ. It has helped me understand him and his mission. If you are struggling to understand Jesus Christ, his mission, or if we even need him, read the Book of Mormon and you will discover that he truly lives.
2. The Book of Mormon helps us determine if Joseph Smith was a prophet.
a. If God were to have a man on the earth that filled the role of a prophet like Moses, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, would it not be important to have a way to determine if he was true or not? Luckily, God has provided such a way to determine if Joseph Smith was a prophet. If we read the Book of Mormon, with “real intent” meaning with sincere desire to understand its message of Christ, and if we pray sincerely asking God if it is true, he will tell us if it is a true book. If it is a true book, Joseph Smith was a true prophet and God established His church through him. It is imperative that people read for themselves with sincerity the Book of Mormon in order to discover if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Without true intent reading the Book of Mormon is wasted energy. But if you truly want to know, if you sincerely ask God, you will get an answer. Also if Joseph Smith was a prophet, it means that we have a prophet today. It means that God speaks to men today, just as he spoke to Moses. If that isn’t important, I don’t know what is.
3. The Book of Mormon helps me see what is important.
a. Just as there are many stories in the Bible from which we can gain personal application, the Book of Mormon too contains stories that help us in our lives today. One of my favorite may be Abinadai. He was chosen by God, to preach to a wicked King. He testified of Christ and of the King’s need to repent. The king burned him at the stake for his words. I like this story because of Abinadi’s personal character. It has taught me to be faithful to God and my morals in any situation. I’m thankful for the Bible and the Book of Mormon stories.
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