The woman in the video below kept her great-grandmother’s belongings in her basement for years. They remained untouched for this long time until dust covered them. The woman knew that her late great-grandmother was a devout woman who belonged to The Latter Day Saints, but she had no clue that there is a treasure buried in those personal possessions.
One day, she was searching through her grandmother’s belongings, when she uncovered a Bellows Falls Latter Day Saints church book dated back to 1844.
For information: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official name for the religion known more commonly as Mormonism. The first hymnal book of this kind was published in 1835, just nine years before before the book discovered.
The woman knowing how much this book is historical, she decided to ask experts on Antiques Roadshow, so that they might tell her more about the hymn book. It was a pretty nice coincidence since the TV show shot an episode in Salt Lake City, where Mormonism has both its headquarters and a great deal of followers. She sat down with rare book expert Ken Sanders and confessed that she had no idea how old her grandmother’s book really was. Ken explained that as one of the earliest hymnals published, it used both musical notations and the lyrics, which makes it quite rare
The hymnals are book of hymns used by churchgoers and they’re normally thrown away once they become worn and tattered, but the fact that this woman’s family kept the old book during this enormous time made it great valuable. So when Ken revealed to the woman just how much the book’s worth, she was baffled. She put her hands on her mouth and explained “Oh my gosh.” Surprised, she asked him what she should do with it and he recommended she keep it quite safe, likely in a safety deposit box.
Watch as this woman grows teary-eyed when she learns what this precious family heirloom is worth monetarily. It’s not every day you see something like this.