1895 — The Gospel in a Nut Shell — Lamoni Call — Extremely Rare Pocket-Sized Leather Book

The Gospel in a Nut Shell. Containing Scriptural Quotations, with a Few Suggestive Words to Start the Beginner on the Thread of Argument

This little leatherbound book is only 107 pages; is only 4 inches tall; fair condition with the binding slightly loose, but holding; binding quite worn as you can see in one of our pics. Inscriptions inside front cover; the rest of the text is quite clean. This book is so rare we could not find another copy for sale on any book site. The Church History Catalog also does not show a copy in the possession of the Church. 

The book is rare enough that it never made into the Guide to Mormon Books! 

Compiled and Printed by Lamoni Call in Bountiful in 1895. You may never see another copy!

Lamoni Call (1865–1933) was a Latter-day Saint missionary, writer, and compiler who is remembered today primarily for his later criticism of the Book of Mormon in 2000 Changes in the Book of Mormon (1898).

Far less known, however, is his exceedingly rare missionary handbook, The Gospel in a Nut Shell (1895), compiled while he was still a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Intended as a pocket-sized scriptural reference, the 107-page booklet arranges hundreds of Bible passages and selected Book of Mormon texts into topical outlines defending doctrines such as priesthood authority, baptism, revelation, spiritual gifts, the Restoration, and the gathering of Israel.

Designed to help missionaries and members quickly “start the beginner on the thread of argument,” it reflects the practical, Bible-centered missionary methods of the late nineteenth century.

Today, surviving copies are scarce, making the booklet not only Call’s earliest significant publication but also an important artifact for understanding Latter-day Saint missionary teaching immediately before the turn of the twentieth century.

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