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I think I told everyone once that I decided to experiment. There is a story about someone who tried to write an equal to the Book of Mormon and found he couldn’t do it. The story was used to shore up the idea that the Book of Mormon and D&C is inspired since no one was capable of writing scripture like that. I haven’t heard that story much in recent years but it was very popular when I was a new member. For me, it was like an invitation to the do the same since I kept hearing about it at church as a faith-building story about the wisdom of the Book of Mormon. So, without claiming to be inspired, without claiming to be writing new revelation, and without claiming to be prophetic or to be writing inspired scripture, I undertook to write a couple of chapters of “scripture” (notice the italics, since I’m not claiming it to be actual scripture) detailing life lessons through a myth. This myth was about a young, talented, but arrogant prince who lived in a Book of Mormon setting, and how we learned humility. I wrote it in columns with Chapter preambles and verse numbers so it felt like scripture. I tried to fill it with pithy, compact statements of truth. I used
Beholds,and It came to pass, and phrases like “ and I did listen to the words of my father“. I then let it sit for a few days and came back and read it. I have to admit, I felt some spirituality when I read it, similar to when I read the Book of Mormon and the new Testament. The verse numbers and the pithy statements made me think the same way I think and meditate when I read the scriptures, and I felt the Spirit as I read it. By the way, my wife got really mad at me when I wrote the myth so I got rid of it. I think she saw it as a descent into lunacy (for me it was an interesting experiment). So I don’t have anything to share with anyone and have no plans to write anything like that again.
The fact that what I wrote invoked the same feelings as reading widely accepted scripture makes me wonder about the extent to which the spirit we feel when we read any scripture is partly influenced by the format of the book. My feeling is that the way it’s laid out, columns, chapter and verse markings and footnotes give it an aura of supernaturality.
And on a related note, my daughter reads the Easy Book of Mormon publication (not a church publication) which takes the original text and line by line, makes the language more modern and simple, complete with chapters and verses. In my view, it retains the original meaning very well. She loves it and carries it with her scriptures, which lends a secondary kind of credence to what I’m saying here.
Comments? Do you think that simply the look and feel of the Book elevates its value to people whether inspired or not?
Probably for some people, but the Book of Mormon wasn’t published originally in that format. It was published originally in classic book form – with each “book” (Nephi, Alma, Moroni, etc.) looking like a chapter. I think the format might lead to a bit of confirmation bias for some people who are used to seeing scripture in that format, but I think the biggest factor is the attitude someone brings into their reading and their “faith orientation”. I think your example is one where you intentionally wrote something that would inspire you – and that probably was the key factor in how you felt about it.
Yes, I figured someone would mention the fact the original book of Mormon was not in typical scriptural layout… For me, my experiment shows me that scripture has a lot in common with what Stephen R. Covey called “wisdom literature”…it’s writing that has truth in it which is also inspiring, or triggers inspiring thoughts. It can come from a whole variety of places — the ideas of wise men, God, even imagination. Some very inspiring phrases I’ve heard have been written by TV show/movie screen writers.
The key is whether the ideas lead to truth really, and I believe that for some (definitely myself), the format and layout of the page sort of put me on familiar ground with scripture which causes me to read slowly and ponder what I read.
So for me, the actual historicity or origins of the Book of Mormon are not nearly as important as how it makes me think and feel when I read it when determining its overall value to me personally.
Quote:So for me, the actual historicity or origins of the Book of Mormon are not nearly as important as how it makes me think and feel when I read it when determining its overall value to me personally.
Honestly, I think you’ve nailed the primary difference between an ability to read the Book of Mormon and accept it and the ability to read it and not accept it – or to not read it all and reject it.
Some people go into it thinking, “This is made up crap. If it’s not historically accurate (and I believe firmly it isn’t), there’s no sense reading it – or, the best reason to read it is to prove it’s illegitimate, made up crap.” Generally speaking, those people aren’t going to read it and feel a “converting” spirit about it – although there are exceptions.
Other people go into it thinking, “I’ll read it and see how I feel about it. I’ll give it a shot.” Generally speaking, those people are much more likely to feel good about it as they read it – and some of that very well might be due to how it looks and reads like the scripture to which they are accustomed.
If someone can set aside at the beginning the need to see it as historically accurate, even if that means assuming it might or might not be and simply not obsessing over historical accuracy, that person has a much better chance of “liking” it as they read. If they read it in that spirit, then pray about whether or not it is of God, they are much more likely to feel that it is.
In summary, if someone tries to answer historicity first and “goodness” is dependent on historicity they aren’t likely to conclude on the side of goodness. If, however, someone focuses on “goodness” first (especially on feeling goodness), it’s much easier to accept historicity – or the possibility of historicity.
Interestingly, that’s a pretty good summary of Moroni 10:3-5.
Iow, as a general rule, what you said – just in a lot more words.
😳 I wish you had saved it. It would be an interesting read. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
Personally, I don’t know what constitutes scripture, but I do know wisdom when I see it! In my personal canon, I’d include: – The works of Jane Austen and George Eliot. Loads to ponder here to understand human nature.
– Siddhartha.
– The Alchemist by Paolo Cohelo. If you haven’t read this, it is a wisdom parable.
– Way of the Sacred Warrior by Dan Millman.
– The 4 Agreements
And many others. My own view is that its the pondering and the insights into human nature that make it of value. But of course, insights into human nature don’t necessarily create reliance on God so much as they spark the divinity within us.
SD, For me, I think the reverence for the position and format is why Proverbs is a work that is still occasionally used. We had a talk in church a couple of weeks ago that quoted Proverbs. I’ve seen as much wisdom come out of fortune cookies. In fact, if I ever have a fortune cookie writing side-gig, I’m using Proverbs 21:9: “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”
Believers tend to lump everything into the black-and-white-ism of scripture and non-scripture, and unduly elevate some of it.
On Own Now wrote:SD,
For me, I think the reverence for the position and format is why Proverbs is a work that is still occasionally used. We had a talk in church a couple of weeks ago that quoted Proverbs. I’ve seen as much wisdom come out of fortune cookies. In fact, if I ever have a fortune cookie writing side-gig, I’m using Proverbs 21:9: “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”
Believers tend to lump everything into the black-and-white-ism of scripture and non-scripture, and unduly elevate some of it.
But if you think about it, there are sayings that come from non-scriptural sources which guide behavior…such as personal mission statements, words of great thinkers from history “the unexamined life isn’t worth living” and others….so truth comes from everywhere, not just the scriptures, and ultimately, truth is just ideas.
On my mission I did consider writing a fictional Book of Mormon after I got off my mission. It would’ve been our in modern English language, but I eventually decided against that. I don’t very many friends or family that live in my state. Although I do like some church videos, I don’t care for Mormon cinema all that much. I am writing a horror novel with Mormon themes, but it isn’t Mormon cinema at the moment.
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