Stolen Book of Mormon found; Friend eyed as thief

Police recovered this rare first-edition of the Book of Mormon. / FBI

(CBS/AP) MESA, Ariz. - The man accused of stealing a rare first-edition of the Book of Mormon from a Mesa store was a trusted friend, according to the book's owner.

Helen Schlie, the owner of Rare and Out of Print Books and Art in Mesa, told the East Valley Tribune Wednesday that Jay Linford was her publisher and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints.

Mesa police say 48-year-old Linford was arrested Tuesday after authorities recovered the book from a Washington, D.C., apartment belonging to an acquaintance of his. Police say it appears the acquaintance was not involved.

Schlie says she was saddened by Linford's arrest. She says he was always quick to help her.

"I like publicity, but not like this," Schlie told the Tribune. "I've had mixed emotions; I didn't want it this way. Anything I wanted done, Jay would do it for me. He always was right there. We could talk about things and he could make it happen."

Police say Linford is being held on $40,000 bond pending extradition to Arizona.

[tvwatcher5345]

now romney can be sworn in if he wins the presidency.

[John782011]

Unfortunately it does not come with a pair of those special gold glasses.

[nohater]

if it's that valuable to mormons or to the owner, it should be kept in a safe or donated to the mormon church. for pete's sake insure it too. the USA allows freedom of religion so am okay with mormons and their beliets.

[royalstar05]

Who would want it. Bunch of trash written by a conman and thief. For Christ sake he was tarred and feathered for wanting to have sex with other mens wives.

[Molly-Pchr]

Silly, no? I mean the tarring and feathering. Now men have sex with other men's wives all the time. We've come a long way.

[royalstar05]

Would you follow a religion started by a guy who does these sort of things? Thats right, you wouldn't.

[superdem1]

Ever read the Book of Mormon ? WOW - try it sometime, talk about some crazy stuff. Next time you're in a hotel, pull it out of the desk drawer and give it a try. And this wasn't written back in the ancient days, this was the 1800's !

[royalstar05]

Its Joesph Smith. But yeah, your right.

[Dromidaon]

In case anyone is interested in seeing what was actually in the first edition you can find a photocopied one online at josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-mormon-1830.

[pcherring]

I think Harry Reid should reply to this revelation since he is the highest ranking government official and also a Mormon.