The first edition to incorporate major changes was the 1879 edition, which LDS apostle Orson Pratt edited. He organized the book using the same versification system current in today’s editions and added extensive footnotes. Most of those cross-referenced other scriptures, but one innovation he introduced was the keying of Book of Mormon place names to modern geographical counterparts. Zarahemla, in this system, is annotated as "north of the head waters of the river Magdalena . . . south of the isthmus" (Omni 1:13).

James E. Talmage supervised the next major edition in 1920. Adopting a more prudent position regarding Book of Mormon geography, he eliminated all geographical footnotes. Double columns and chapter summaries brought the edition to the layout familiar to today’s readers.