A member of the Stanford LDS Institute faculty, Lynne Hilton Wilson, grew tired of seeing bright young Latter-day Saints leave the Church without ever seriously engaging the Book of Mormon. She envisioned an organization that could communicate the wonder of this text to a broad audience, including millennials. Major donors came forward and
Book of Mormon Central (BMC) was born in May, 2015. John W. (Jack) Welch is the Chairman. I (Kirk Magleby) serve as Executive Director. Taylor Halverson rounds out the volunteer management team. We have a research office and library in Springville, Utah. The legal entity behind BMC is
Ancient America Foundation (AAF) chartered in 1983. In addition to full-time staff and part-time freelancers, BMC has both affiliates and associates. Affiliates are collaborative organizations with compatible goals. Associates are volunteer researchers, writers, editors, reviewers, illustrators, composers, designers, photographers, etc.
Book of Mormon Central launched on January 1, 2016. A pre-launch reception was held on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm in the Fritz Burns Lobby of the J. Reuben Clark Law School on BYU Campus. About 120 people attended.
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| Book of Mormon Central Pre-Launch Reception Invitation |
Book of Mormon Central has four major initiatives.
- The BMC Archive is a comprehensive digital repository of searchable texts and media relevant to the Book of Mormon. Over 1,000 items were in the archive at launch.
- BMC Notes are articles about the Book of Mormon organized in curated wiki format. A few notes were available at launch, with many more coming online during 2016.
- The BMC Text is an online interactive copy of the Book of Mormon linked to explanatory material in the Archive and Notes. A short demo of the text was online at launch.
- KnoWhys are concise illustrated essays about a point of interest in the Book of Mormon published frequently in many social media channels including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. KnoWhys began publication January 1, 2016.
Nothing like Book of Mormon Central has ever been attempted in this dispensation. We hope to give believers a place to strengthen their conviction through reliable scholarship and articulate communication. And we hope to help many not of our faith come to know the Book of Mormon.
A phrase we have heard frequently the last few months, "This is greatly needed and long overdue."
This article updated January 30, 2016
