Why would JS have a whole convoluted story about "evil men" altering the 116 pages and yet try to sell the copyright in Canada?

I know nothing about the contract he would have demanded, but I think if I bought a copyright (not just publishing rights) I might alter things to make my version....well....MY version, ancient backup plans by god be damned.

Sorry, must be Satan making me write this.....

Hold on here, there aren't any evil men in Canada.

I haven't heard much about this 'selling the copyright to Canada'. More info?

The entire Canada scheme was an exercise in absurdity; but
LDS historians are now ready to admit it happened. They
even have the "revelation" which prompted this strange
episode, if I recall correctly.

Selling publication rights in Canada would have simply
allowed one or more Canadian publishers to issue copies of
the book, without coming into conflict with the U.S.
copyright holder. There is no way Smith could have stopped
a Canadian printer from duplicating the text, had anybody
north of the border wished to do so.

There was a knock-off edition of the book published in
New York in 1840. I doubt that any of the sales proceeds
ever ended up in Smith's pocket. I've never heard of the
Mormon leaders ever suing any person for illegally
duplicating the BoM text. That was threatened back in
1829, when excerpts appeared in the Palmyra Reflector,
but the threat only worked because Mr. Cole was obtaining
his copy from Mr. Grandin, and the theft was easily ended.

There was zero chance that Smith could have sold his
copyright in Canada. I don't think that even so popular
a writer as J.F. Cooper was able to make money that way.

As for the Devil and evil men wanting to change the wording
of the book's initial pages, to somehow stop its going
forth to the world; that is also ridiculous.

The Canada fiasco and the 116 pages fiasco are related in
in the fact that they were both absurdities concocted in
the mind of a young Joe Smith, who had not yet honed his
con-man skills to perfection. But his dupes still believed
him -- and still do to this very day.

UD