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A review by emiged
By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion by Terryl L. Givens
4.0
Interesting look at the Book of Mormon's role in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over its 180+ year history. Written by a faithful member of the Church for a non-member audience, I (a life-long member of the Church) learned quite a bit about this book of scripture that I've read a dozen times or more from By the Hand of Mormon.
Dr. Givens approaches the early history of the Church by putting Mormonism in the context of the times. It was eye-opening for me to learn that the early church really didn't stand out at first in an age that was a "paradise of heterodoxy." Visions and other spiritual manifestations were fairly common; Dr. Givens reports that Richard Bushman has discovered at least 32 pamphlets published between 1783 and 1815 that related individuals' personal visions - and that's only the published stories. And with the fascination of the times with Native Americans' origins, the Book of Mormon was not even the only source that connected them with Israel - though most other suggestions linked them to the Ten Lost Tribes rather than through Joseph.
Also interesting was the fact that for much of the Church's history, the text of the Book of Mormon has held less importance than its origin story or its role as a vehicle of personal revelation. In fact, it wasn't until 1961 that BYU required students to study the Book of Mormon and it wasn't until 1972 that it was formally made part of the Sunday School curriculum. Of course, President Benson took the focus on the Book of Mormon to a whole new level in 1986 and today it is absolutely central to both public worship and personal study.
Dr. Givens addresses many of the arguments against the validity of the Book of Mormon, including a discussion of Hebrew and Egyptian language and form, overlap with the King James Version of the Bible, names in the Book of Mormon, and seeming anachronisms. He provides plausible explanations for many of the issues raised and describes how several points that seemed to argue against the Book of Mormon's historical validity have been found to be possible with further archaeological and scientific research. A good summation for those wanting to better understand a linguistic, cultural and spiritual context for the Book of Mormon.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
Dr. Givens approaches the early history of the Church by putting Mormonism in the context of the times. It was eye-opening for me to learn that the early church really didn't stand out at first in an age that was a "paradise of heterodoxy." Visions and other spiritual manifestations were fairly common; Dr. Givens reports that Richard Bushman has discovered at least 32 pamphlets published between 1783 and 1815 that related individuals' personal visions - and that's only the published stories. And with the fascination of the times with Native Americans' origins, the Book of Mormon was not even the only source that connected them with Israel - though most other suggestions linked them to the Ten Lost Tribes rather than through Joseph.
Also interesting was the fact that for much of the Church's history, the text of the Book of Mormon has held less importance than its origin story or its role as a vehicle of personal revelation. In fact, it wasn't until 1961 that BYU required students to study the Book of Mormon and it wasn't until 1972 that it was formally made part of the Sunday School curriculum. Of course, President Benson took the focus on the Book of Mormon to a whole new level in 1986 and today it is absolutely central to both public worship and personal study.
Dr. Givens addresses many of the arguments against the validity of the Book of Mormon, including a discussion of Hebrew and Egyptian language and form, overlap with the King James Version of the Bible, names in the Book of Mormon, and seeming anachronisms. He provides plausible explanations for many of the issues raised and describes how several points that seemed to argue against the Book of Mormon's historical validity have been found to be possible with further archaeological and scientific research. A good summation for those wanting to better understand a linguistic, cultural and spiritual context for the Book of Mormon.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.