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Subtitled: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion. I thought this was a great historiography and historical critique of how the church and members of the church viewed the Book of Mormon, and used the Book of Mormon since its publication in 1830. The author Teryl Givens is an excellent authority on Mormon history, philosophy, and theology. The fact that this book is published by Oxford University Press gives it even more clout and credence–in other words it is academically done and adheres to its clear objectives. Givens does an excellent job showing that church members and converts saw the Book of Mormon more as a symbol or evidence of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling, and were well-versed Bible Christians. Members of the Church in the early days mainly used the Bible to preach their sermons, and in proselyting. The Book of Mormon was the evidence for Joseph Smith’s prophetic call and the tangible prove that Joseph was indeed a Prophet of God since “no man” could create such a monumental work: the Book of Mormon. I have to admit that it has been awhile since I read the book. I did give it to an agnostic professor who was interested in the study of religion. I don’t know if he ever read the book, or even cared about it. In hindsight I think it is more geared to Mormon history buffs and church members. It is interesting to note that until Ezra Taft Benson gave his mandate that the church membership should do more with the Book of Mormon and to “flood the earth with it” –that the church membership really took it quite casually. I just know from a member’s perspective it is important to know and understand our own history, and I think this book let’s us really see how the church has evolved from a Bible preaching church to a Book of Mormon ‘thumping’ church. In my opinion, and in my own experience, the Bible was more interesting and important from my frame of reference as a youngster. I had to know Jesus and what he did before I really cared about the minutia of doctrine. I know at a young age that I read the New Testament before I tried reading the Book of Mormon (probably because the print was larger than the 1970 publication of the Book of Mormon that had tiny print). So, like our forebears I guess I was a Bible based Christian first, then I read the Book of Mormon to answer more doctrinal questions. Additionally, I turned to the Book of Mormon finally to firm up my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel to LDS church mainly to prepare for a mission. Great Book and rather lengthy, but Givens does a thorough job. Check it out if you got the time.
Read it a short while ago. By the way, I’d recommend his book, “A Very Short Introduction to the Book of Mormon”
I also enjoyed the book, even though I couldn’t agree with every last assumption that Givens made. Some parts were a little too heavy with detail for my personal taste, but I thought it was a great summary of the BoM scholarship to date. Jamison, thanks for posting about this book–I’m surprised it hadn’t been talked about before. I too liked the book–so much that I devoted 3 posts on my blog. I was really impressed with his discussion on wordprint studies, archaeology, and the debate between Mormons and Evangelicals. I didn’t really follow his dialogic revelation very well–he lost me there. It was definitely an interesting read.
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