Review
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Title: The Reader's Book of Mormon
Author: Susan Elizabeth Howe, et al
Publisher: Signature Books
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2008
Binding: Seven paperback books, box set
ISBN: 978-1-56085-175-2
Price: $40.00
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
I'm going to share a few insights with you, a personal side of myself that I don't talk about very much.
Like most people, I dream every night, and I wake up in the morning, remembering the details of the dream. I have several recurring dreams. One has me going on a walk along a lovely, ascending tree-filled path. I climb the path, stopping here and there to discover something wonderful. And, even in the dream, I remember being on this path before, and knowing that what I'm seeing this time, I'd not seen in previous walks.
As often as I have this dream, I'm reminded that life can get very busy at times. We find ourselves literally rushing through life, rarely stopping to see if there's anything new in our path. More often than not, it's all the same old thing -- the house, the kids, the car, the street, etc. But every so often, something appears that we'd not noticed before. The thrill of discovery is a feeling beyond compare.
When the late President Gordon B. Hinckley urged all members to read through the Book of Mormon that year, I wondered how many would actually take him up on his challenge. Why read the same old book? There's nothing new in there. Why should I waste my time? Some readers have reported that they've gotten new insights when re-reading the Book of Mormon. But I suspect some read by rote, out of a sense of duty and not with any expectation of finding something new and exciting.
"The Reader's Book of Mormon" reminds us of an aspect of reading that we sometimes miss. At times it's more important *how* we read than *what* we read. We all come to the scriptures through the lens of our own experience. If the sum total of that experience is what is learned in Church-sponsored seminars and institutes, then the reader is at something of a disadvantage. I have long thought that the real fault in many of the Church's materials is that, while it encourages people to read and study -- a good thing! -- it also can overstep its mandate by telling members *how* to read and study the scriptures.
It was the late theologian Karl Barth who insisted that God was "wholly other" and could be known only through scripture. This led to his development of the idea of scripture as divine-human encounter -- the place where man could meet God. But no one person can tell another person just *how* to meet God in scripture. We must discover our own touch points in our own way.
"The Reader's Book of Mormon" is a boxed set of seven small paperback books, each containing a portion of the Book of Mormon, and an introduction by a well-known writer. The series is introduced by Robert A. Rees. We learn of the genesis of the project, with its roots in the fertile mind of the late Eugene England. When England passed away, the project was picked up by others, resulting in this latest offering from Signature Books.
The volumes, and their introducers, are:
Vol. 1: 1 Nephi - 2 Nephi 3, introduced by Susan Elizabeth Howe
Vol. 2: 2 Nephi 4 - Words of Mormon, introduced by Claudia L. Bushman
Vol. 3: Mosiah, introduced by William A. Wilson
Vol. 4: Alma 1-19, introduced by Robert A. Rees
Vol. 5: Alma 20 - Helaman 4, introduced by Douglas Thayer
Vol. 6: Helaman 5 - 3 Nephi, introduced by Linda Hoffman Kimball
Vol. 7: 4 Nephi - Moroni, introduced by Steve Walker
The introducers were chosen very deliberately. Each has either a special expertise in their area, or a pronounced interest in the material covered. Each has a very personal take on the Book of Mormon. Each has transcended the wooden literalism so promoted by the Church, and has found new depth, new meaning -- in other words, a new *way* of reading the text. They've walked the path of my dream, and each has found something new, something exciting, and something vitally important to say about the Book of Mormon text.
What comes across in each of the essays is a deep love for the text, a vitality and an excitement that comes from reading the Book of Mormon through a different lens. Matters of historicity matter little in this way of reading. If Zarahemla is never found, it won't matter one bit to the reader who finds the Book of Mormon to be a vital and living document, whose meaning should be seen through a prism of experience, and not just in a proscribed way.
Each volume contains not only the essay but also the full text of the 1830 Book of Mormon. It was thought that a fresh reading of the original text would enhance the student's experience. I'm not clear I understand why this early version serves better than later versions. As they say, you mileage may vary.
Reading the introductions, and then the Book of Mormon itself, opens to the reader so many possibilities in understanding and appreciating the text. The introductions are lovely; they open the mind to new ways of reading and appreciating. They are well worth your consideration.
To coin a phrase, enjoy reading the Book of Mormon again for the first time. Open your mind to the exciting possibility that there are hidden treasures there, treasures that can only be unearthed by opening your mind and your heart to the leading of the spirit.
This is a wonderful set, well worth having and pondering.
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com<www.aml-online.org>
<www.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html>
