BYU professors introduced their work with the manuscript of Eli Wiggil, the first recorded convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the continent of Africa, on Oct. 3.
Their work takes the original manuscript of Wiggil’s diary and adds annotations and insights to make it more accessible to modern readers.
The book, “The Life and Adventures of Eli Wiggill: South African 1820 Settler, Wesleyan Missionary, and Latter-day Saint,” became available in April 2024. Last week, Jay H. Buckley and Fred E. Woods introduced the publication to a room full of BYU students and faculty.
The publication with the professors’ additions is “true to the source but provides meaningful annotations,” Buckley, an associate professor of history, said…