Mary Deer and Llyfr Mormon
The year 2022 marked the 170th anniversary of the publication of Llyfr Mormon, the Welsh translation of the Book of Mormon. The translation is attributed to John Sylvanus Davis of Merthyr Tydfil, and as he was also the publisher, his name appears on the title page. But assisting him in the work of translation was Mary Deer, a convert from Cadoxton (some 20 miles to the west), who was then also living in Merthyr Tydfil.
Born in 1831, Mary had been baptised at age 18, but was the only member of her family to join the Church. Experiencing some hostility from neighbours and family, she first moved to Swansea where she worked as a seamstress, and then to Merthyr Tydfil, where she worked in John Davis’ print shop. Welsh was the predominant (and often the only) language spoken by those who lived in rural Wales in the mid-nineteenth century. But in industrial areas such as Swansea, which attracted workers from many parts of Britain and elsewhere, knowledge of English became a necessity. Literacy levels were also relatively high in Wales, with nonconformist Sunday Schools teaching children to read the Bible. Mary could evidently read English and Welsh fluently enough to assist in the translation of the Book of Mormon.
Mary emigrated in 1854 on the same ship as John S. Davis and his family. She was twice widowed before she married John Price in 1870 and moved to Samaria, Idaho, where she died at age 66. Samaria had been settled by Welsh converts, so Mary would have been able to continue speaking her native Welsh with her friends and neighbours. She would have carried with her, throughout her life, her knowledge and testimony of the Book of Mormon, acquired as she assisted John Davis with the translation.
Taken from a “History of Mary Deer Davis Price”, written by granddaughter Mary Evans Keller (1896–1977) in November 1971.