Joseph Smith said that the Title Page of the Book of Mormon was a part of the original text. He said that it was ‘ a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates.’

To modern readers it might seem strange to have a Title Page at the back of the record – the practice today, as in the published Book of Mormon, is to have the Title Page at the beginning.

However, it seems that this was the established practice in the ancient world. The Dutch scholar Karel Van Der Toon speaking of ancient Mesopotamian texts wrote:

‘The cuneiform equivalent of our title page is the colophon. The colophon is a scribal note at the end of a text.’

Walter Bukert wrote that Ancient Greek texts included ‘ the indication of the name of the writer’ author and the title of the book right at the end, after the last line of the text.’

So, Joseph’s description is entirely consistent with what is known to be the practice in ancient records.