The safe that contained an 1840 edition printed in Nauvoo, Ill., and the 1841 edition printed in Liverpool, England, was kept in a cupboard in an office inside the Salt Lake University Institute of Religion. A secretary noticed the safe was missing on Tuesday.

The 1840 edition and the 1841 edition are worth about $35,000 and $25,000, respectively, said Ken Sanders, who owns Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City.

"The monetary value has not been that important to us," said Allan Gunnerson, institute director. "We could have given them to the church historical department. . . . We felt it was so fortunate to have them."

Teachers were allowed to check out the Books of Mormon and take them to class so their students could see them.

The safe that contained them was stolen sometime between Oct. 24 and Tuesday. The books were believed to be the only contents of the safe, which was in the part of an office where one of the institute's secretaries works. The secretary has been on vacation and returned to work on Monday, Gunnerson said. Another safe in a different part of the building used for daily operations apparently had not been tampered with.

"At this point, the investigation is just really starting," University of Utah police Sgt. Lynn Rohland said Thursday afternoon.

The 1840 edition was the third edition of the Book of Mormon, while the 1841 edition is the fourth.

Though Sanders said he could not pinpoint how many copies are in existence, the editions were printed in the few thousands.

"The books are extremely rare. They're extremely desirable. They're sought after, and they sell for relatively high prices," said Sanders, who has worked in the antiquarian book trade in Salt Lake City for 35 years.

Sanders said in his experience, stolen rare books are sold locally within 24 hours of the theft.

"The thief rarely holds on to them," he said.

The institute's books have stamps that read either University Institute or Institute of Religion. There are also check-out folders in the back.

"They're very identifiable," Gunnerson said.

The books were not in pristine condition but were in decent shape, he said.

"It's just sad they will not have the opportunity to use them in the classroom," Gunnerson said.

Rohland asked anyone with information about the theft to call University of Utah police at 801-585-COPS (2677).

jhill@sltrib.com