Retired bookstore owner Helen Schlie can see a higher purpose in selling her 1830 first-edition Book of Mormon one page at a time.

Schlie said she believes it will be more of a "missionary tool" since the framed pages -- priced at $2,500 to $4,500 apiece -- can be handed down from generation to generation.

"This way, it will touch hundreds of lives and span generations of time," said Schlie, who is Mormon. "The book has now started a whole new missionary career."

Her decision, however, has garnered mixed reviews from fellow Mormon book dealers and librarians who think such a rare piece of church history is better left intact.

Some librarians were appalled when they learned of Schlie's intentions, said Haybron Adams, a retired librarian who worked in the special collections division at Brigham Young University and who authenticated Schlie's book.

"But librarians have a different look at books," he said.