Museum visit...

So for my Doctrine and Covenants class we had to go visit a Museum here in Provo that basically demonstrated how books are published, with an emphasis on the early publication of the Book of Mormon. I had been to a very similar museum in Palmyra, New York a few years ago, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it! In Palmyra I recall being blown away by all of the time and work that went into getting a book published back then. Although the facts were fascinating then, I found the Crandall Museum to be even better because they demonstrated each step so you could really experience and understand exactly what went into each book.
The whole concept of a printing press is truly remarkable and the fact that anyone could imagine any of that up just blows my mind. I couldn't believe that they had to make their own molds for each letter, and then had to insert every letter individually into the correct place in order to spell out whatever they needed. On top of placing every letter one by one into the correct place, they also had to insert it upside down and backwards. Now that would be a real trip for me, I'd never be able to do it!
Part of one of the pages had been misplaced at one point and therefore those letters were removed and put in a pile off to the side. While I looked over the 16 pages that they could print each time, I was in awe that so many letters went into each page. Even though I found it remarkable, I obtained a true appreciation for it as I sifted my hand through this pile of misplaced letters and was able to see exactly how many letters each contained.
This whole process seemed to be very tedious and time consuming, but yet the Book of Mormon was published in practically no time. Printing 5,000 copies of this book should have taken a lot longer than it did, so I strongly believe that they received extra help and strength. I think that our Heavenly Father blessed them to perform their duties/work faster than they ever could have done on their own because the printing and producing of this book was so important. The Book of Mormon was crucial to the restoration and the spreading of the gospel.
After visiting this museum and seeing what went into producing the Book of Mormon, I gained an appreciation for the evolution of mass producing and for the improvements we've made over time, but better yet, I gained an appreciation for the Book of Mormon. Seeing the assistance that was given to those men to get this published just reaffirmed how important that Book is and how important it is that everyone have a chance to read it. I think this is why we have published it into so many different languages now.
Sorry, kind of a long post, but if you get the chance, I would definitely recommend going and checking the Crandall Museum out. Definitely worth it!