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Understanding the Book of Mormon : a reader’s guide – Grant Hardy Date(s): 2010.
Publisher: New York, N.Y. ; Oxford : Oxford University Press,
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This book is fairly dry, but it does offer some new perspectives. What is refreshing is that it’s neither coming at it from a FARMS POV nor one that is obviously anti-Mormon. Hardy does mention a few “anti-Mormon” ideas, in passing, but he has not written this book to debunk it. In other words, it won’t wreck your testimony (if you’re worried about that!) and is probably safe to be seen out and about with!
Instead, he’s much more interested in literary techniques (although oddly enough little about chiasmus), embedded narratives, character’s flaws and views etc (Moroni’s self-identified supposed weakness in writing), and puts this all within the context of world literature. For example, he compares the BoM with Aphra Behn, Robinson Crusoe, The Blue Cliff Record, the Sikh Scriptures etc as well as the more obvious Bible, and D&C. He also makes some interesting comments about Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.
While there are the predictable comments on repeated phrases and structure etc, Hardy also makes some interesting comments about the complexity of the chronology (he can only find one possible discrepency within the work), and also the success of the embedded narratives (people quoting people, quoting people) He also picks up on some stuff I’d never heard before, like the Jaredites’ unusual form of kingship.
I find some of Terryl Givens’ work more interesting*, but this is worth a look at it, if you’re more academically minded, or interested in relating it to other religious traditions.
* Check out The Book of Mormon : a very short introduction for example – good stuff.
Thanks for the review–it looks interesting. If only I could read faster….
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