November 1830–July 1831

Mary and Caroline Rollins

Strong love for the scriptures

Mary Rollins was 12 years old when missionaries first visited Kirtland, Ohio. She heard them talk about the Book of Mormon. At that time, there was only one copy of the book in Kirtland, and a Church leader named Isaac Morley had it.

Mary went to Brother Morley’s home and asked to see the book. Brother Morley let her hold it. Mary asked if she could take it home.

Brother Morley didn’t want to give Mary his copy of the book. He hadn’t read very much of it yet. Mary pleaded with Brother Morley to let her borrow it.

Brother Morley agreed. He said Mary could take the book home if she brought it back early the next day. Mary treated it like a treasure. She stayed up most of the night reading.

When Mary gave the book back, Brother Morley was surprised at how much she had read. “Child,” he said, “take this book home and finish it. I can wait.”

Mary was the first person in Kirtland to read the Book of Mormon all the way through. Soon after she finished, she met the Prophet Joseph Smith. When he found out how much Mary loved the Book of Mormon, he said that she could have Brother Morley’s copy. He would give Brother Morley another one.

Later that year, Mary and her family moved to Independence, Missouri. She was excited to watch as Church leaders began to put together a new book called the Book of Commandments. This book would have many of the revelations Jesus Christ had given to Joseph Smith.

Doctrine and Covenants 67; 70:1–4; Saints, 1:178

But some people in Independence didn’t like the Church. They wanted the Saints to leave. One day, angry men broke into the building where the Book of Commandments was being printed. They threw the printing press out the window and scattered the pages of the Book of Commandments into the street.

Saints, 1:177–78

Mary and her sister, Caroline, were watching from behind a fence. Mary told Caroline she wanted to get the pages before they were ruined. Caroline was afraid of the angry men. “They will kill us,” she said. But Mary and Caroline knew that those pages had the word of God on them.

Saints, 1:178

The sisters waited until the men weren’t looking. Then they ran into the street and grabbed as many pages as they could hold. As they hurried away, some men saw them and yelled at them to stop. Mary and Caroline held the pages tighter and ran as fast as they could into a nearby cornfield.

Saints, 1:178–79

Two men chased the sisters into the cornfield. The corn was so tall, Mary and Caroline couldn’t see where they were going. They threw themselves to the ground and hid the pages beneath their bodies. They listened quietly as the two men walked through the corn looking for them.

Saints, 1:179

Soon the men gave up. Mary and Caroline were safe. They had saved the pages of the Lord’s revelations for the Book of Commandments. Today those revelations are in the book of Doctrine and Covenants.

Saints, 1:179