The Book of Mormon as Literature

[Ghost]

I came across an essay this morning that I enjoyed: Grant Shreve: I fell hard for the Book of Mormon but did not convert to the LDS Church

It’s been disorienting to find myself on more than one occasion over the past several years sitting around the dinner table with family and friends ferociously defending the artistic merits of the Book of Mormon and repeating ad nauseam the old adage that the only thing guaranteed to keep a person in everlasting ignorance is “contempt prior to investigation.” Sometimes I feel like the old deacon who breathlessly reported to Parley Pratt that he had come into possession of a “strange book, a VERY STRANGE BOOK!”

It can be difficult to focus on anything but the historical claims of the Book of Mormon given its function in Mormonism, but I've always found myself feeling a little defensive when people dismiss the book as entirely unimpressive. Especially people who have actually read it. (Insert Mark Twain quote here.)

Perhaps this dismissive attitude is a reaction in part to the claim that book is so impressive that it could only have come from God. And someone with bitterness toward Mormonism might find his or her opinion of the book colored by that as well. And certainly my own attitude is based in part on a nostalgic connection that keeps me from being entirely objective. But regardless, I still like the book and find it impressive. I think I even find its problems endearing at this point.

It's interesting to learn that it is being taught in university courses. I'd be curious to sit in on a lecture in which the book is discussed by people who have no connection to Mormonism at all.

I also like Orson Scott Card's science fiction version, the Homecoming series, in which Nephi (Nafai) and family go into space instead of crossing the ocean. At least, I liked it when I read it in high school and I assume it would still hold up.

[Mad Jax]

More than the bible ever did, the BoM invokes imagery of an eternity that I find appealing. The idea of chanting praise non-stop to an egotistical deity for all eternity doesn't have much appeal, but hey... it beats a lake of fire, I suppose. Nonetheless, it doesn't really stack up well next to the idea of being "encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."

I think too many people dismiss the BoM's appeal in this regard. It does, IMO, paint the eternal with a more beautiful brush. And it seems unconnected to middle eastern imagery in the same way as a book such as the Koran tends to do. As a book with a "promise" I think that's part of the psychological effect of reading it. In addition to the idea of a god being more cosmopolitan than that of a local deity from a tiny province of Rome, there's just more of a sense of it being a book with a focus on its own purpose. Sure, I believe it to be fiction, as I believe all scripture to be, but I understand why I and many others were drawn to it and by it into the LDS church.

[MerrieMiss]

Honestly, I never liked the Book of Mormon. I've always been a an Old Testament kind of person. If I had to open up and read the scriptures right now, I'd choose Ecclesiastes.

That said, I've thought it odd that the Book of Mormon is not traditionally taught in universities as American Literature, much as the Bible is taught as literature. A lot of Mormons would get their garmies in a twist about it, I suppose, because they hold the BoM to a different standard than the Bible, but to me, the Book of Mormon is a very true book, if we're talking about the story of the American Myth. It is so very obviously a book that encapsulates mid-nineteenth century religious/philosophical thought, the ideas that came before, and because of that, has a reach into American culture to this day.

Early American Literature courses focus on a lot of religious writings. I took one such course, although I find the writings extremely dull (maybe I just got too much religion growing up?), because it fulfilled a required credit. However, the professor loved the material so much that I took many subsequent courses from her, all on a subject I cared little about, but I found the works fascinating because her fervor (not religious) for the material was contagious. That some people find the Book of Mormon endearing, impressive, engaging, etc. isn't really surprising. There are all kinds of different people. Some like early American lit and others don't. I never did, I still don't particularly, and I still don't care for the Book of Mormon. But to each their own. I really do think it would make great material for a non-religious university literature class.

[Ghost]

If I had to open up and read the scriptures right now, I'd choose Ecclesiastes.

I find Ecclesiastes the most relatable of all the canonical books these days.

I think if I were to pick a book of scripture to read right now, it would probably be one from another tradition.

[Corsair]

If I had to open up and read the scriptures right now, I'd choose Ecclesiastes.

I find Ecclesiastes the most relatable of all the canonical books these days.

I think if I were to pick a book of scripture to read right now, it would probably be one from another tradition.

There are so many great books that have been written throughout history. Often they are passively avoided simply because we keep reading the same ones over and over again. It's not that the LDS church tells us to avoid secular books. It's simply that they get crowded out with everything else we have to do. By the time we finish reading the Book of Mormon yet again, we have run out of the energy and enthusiasm to take on something new.