Book of Mormon Bibliography
Alphabetical by Title

Based upon scriptural and historical sources, this fictional narrative of the life and mission of the angel Moroni links the prophet Moroni with the legends surrounding the “pale one” of Indian legend.

Retells the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors. The Lord helped with military strategy. Helaman was a leader during times of war and peace. President Benson counsels the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood to liken themselves spiritually to the Sons of Helaman.

Discusses the men who are the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, their continued testimony after leaving the Church, and the reconversion of Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris.

“In this essay I will examine the published testimonies of the witnesses, as well as other related historical sources, to try to determine more accurately the nature of their experiences. Hence, I will not explore the question of the witnesses’ honesty and trustworthiness; this has been exploited at great length by those whose intent has been to present a false dichotomy: either the witnesses told the truth about their experiences, and therefore Joseph Smith’s claims about the plates are true, or they lied and the plates never existed. This either/or reduction misrepresents the situation facing those who wish to examine the historical nature of these events.” [From author’s introduction]

This article is a fictional story of Lehi’s family and the Exodus as seen from the eyes of Lemuel’s wife.

Abstract: Latter-day Saints are often aware that the Apocrypha contains valuable sacred material along with some “interpolations of men,” but few know how to approach those ancient texts and what they could learn from them. A new book by Jared W. Ludlow provides a helpful tool to guide LDS readers in appreciating the Apocrypha and exploring the material in these highly diverse sacred documents.
Review of Jared W. Ludlow, Exploring the Apocrypha from a Latter-day Saint Perspective (Springville, Utah: CFI, 2018). 234 pp. $16.99. Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all. With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it; for someone may have heard you and watched you, and in time will hate you. Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave, it will not make you burst! Having heard something, the fool suffers birth pangs like a woman in labor with a child. Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh, so is gossip inside a fool.
— Ecclesiasticus, aka The Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sira,
aka Sirach 19:7–12. .

By the end of this year, “Nineteenth-Century Publications about the Book of Mormon (1829–1844)” will be made available as one of the Harold B. Lee Library’s digital collections. Building on the work of previous generations of researchers, Matthew Roper, research scholar with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, has collected digital facsimiles and electronic transcriptions of as many of these early publications as could be found.

Authentication and elucidation of the Book of Mormon is the purpose for Book of Mormon archaeology. It is as important as biblical archaeology or archaeology in the Aegean that sheds light on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as important historical documents.

Authentication and elucidation of the Book of Mormon is the purpose for Book of Mormon archaeology. It is as important as biblical archaeology or archaeology in the Aegean that sheds light on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as important historical documents.

Takes issue with the Tanners’ approaches against the Book of Mormon in such areas as the Smithsonian statement, the Anthon transcript, the Kinderhook plates, the “Bat Creek” stone, the Stela 5, and other archaeological interests.

Discusses the Priesthood. Also explains how the Three Witnesses conform to five criteria for determining the soundness of a testimony.

Story of a first edition Book of Mormon given to President Spencer W. Kimball.

In … Church meetings around the world, we come together seeking companionship—the good company of brothers and sisters in the gospel and the comfort of sweet communion with the Spirit of God.

Much has been written about changes between the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon (the first) and modern editions. But knowledge is less widespread about the variations that exist between different copies of the 1830 edition itself. We are now aware of 41 such changes, and there are certainly others that have not yet been discovered. Three-fourths of the 41 changes were picked up when Alfred Bush of Princeton University Library,using a Hinman collator, compared the 1830 edition copy in the Scheide Library with a copy from Brigham Young University and one from the Historical Department of the Church. Using this list of changes as a base, and adding other changes discovered by other people, 70 different copies of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon have since been compared.

Abstract: This paper examines the testimonies of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon— not only the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses, but many others who experienced and testified of the reality of the Book of Mormon plates. Together, these testimonies offer impressive support for the claims of Joseph Smith regarding the Book of Mormon and, thus, the Restoration. The variety and complexity of their collective testimony makes finding a single, alternative, non-divine explanation for the witness experiences challenging, indeed.
[Editor’s Note: A very similar version of this essay was delivered as an address at the annual FairMormon Conference in August 2020.].

Copies of the Book of Mormon are being made available free of charge to non-members through advertising in newspapers and television, distribution by missionaries.

The editions of the Book of Mormon include the original manuscript, the first edition, the Liverpool editions, the editions of the Reorganized Church, the Salt Lake editions, the Chicago and Independence editions, and translations into Welsh, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Japanese.

Abstract: Embarking roughly six months after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 1830–1831 “mission to the Lamanites” faced challenges that we pampered moderns can scarcely imagine. Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Parley P. Pratt, Ziba Peterson, and, eventually, Frederick G. Williams demonstrated beyond reasonable dispute the depth of their commitment to the Restoration and to the promises extended by the Book of Mormon to the surviving children of Lehi. Given that Cowdery and Whitmer were witnesses of the golden plates, this demonstration of their genuine belief seems significant.

A condemnation of Mormonism and the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon has many errors in grammar, which have been changed in more recent editions. The book appears to have been based upon the work of Solomon Spaulding. Mormonism is comparable with Islam.

Abstract: The Book of Mormon, being an ancient book, was originally written without typographic punctuation and employs verbal punctuation instead. This article looks at the use of “and now” as verbal punctuation in the Book of Mormon. The phrase is used to mark major breaks in the text, not only for chapters but also within chapters of the text. The Book of Mormon usage is borrowed from Classical Biblical Hebrew (the Hebrew used before the exile) and follows the pattern set by pre-exilic Hebrew scribes. While this usage dropped in the Old World after the Babylonian exile as Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the major language spoken, the Book of Mormon preserved the usage until the end of Nephite civilization.

Abstract: One example of verbal punctuation that has a very clear pattern of usage in the Book of Mormon is the term nevertheless. It is used to draw a marked contrast between what the previous text would lead one to expect and what follows it. It is not clear what the ancient antecedent to the term might be and the English term and usage might be an artefact of the translation process. The frequency and usage of nevertheless in the Book of Mormon contrasts with the way that Joseph Smith’s writings use it.

Review of Book of Mormon Authorship: A Closer Look (1983), by Vernal Holley.

Do you want to expand and deepen your study of the Book of Mormon? If so, you will find what you’re looking for in this commentary written by gospel scholars D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner. This volume is the first of a two-volume, reader-friendly exploration of the book of scripture that is the keystone of our religion. It incorporates sound doctrinal commentary with quotations from General Authorities and explanations of difficult passages—all sprinkled generously with the authors’ own experiences to illustrate great lessons and personal applications. Interspersed with the commentary are feature articles that offer new glimpses into such topics as angels who have come to earth, names and titles of God, Israel and Zion in Latter-day Saint usage, the Isaiah chapters of First and Second Nephi, the allegory of the olive tree, and prophecies of Christ. Highly informative and easy to read, this commentary on the Book of Mormon provides stimulating views that complement the scriptures. It will be treasured by anyone who wishes to understand more fully the teachings of those whom the Lord called in the land of promise to testify of him.

Do you want to expand and deepen your study of the Book of Mormon? If so, you will find what you’re looking for in this commentary written by gospel scholars D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner. This volume is the second of a two-volume, reader-friendly exploration of the book of scripture that is the keystone of our religion. It incorporates sound doctrinal commentary with quotations from General Authorities and explanations of difficult passages — all sprinkled generously with the authors’ own experiences to illustrate great lessons and personal applications. Interspersed with the commentary are feature articles that offer new glimpses into such topics as the importance of record keeping, the purpose of a covenant people, teachings regarding war, the sealing power, God as a God of miracles still today, the Americas as the promised land, and the love of God for all his children. Highly informative and easy to read, this commentary on the Book of Mormon provides stimulating views that complement the scriptures. It will be treasured by anyone who wishes to understand more fully the teachings of those whom the Lord called in the land of promise to testify of him.

THE BooK OF MORMON presented itself as a history of previously unidentified New World civilizations with origins in the ancient Near East. To defend its claims of historicity, believers pointed to the work’s correspondence with the Bible and their own spiritual witnesses. They also insisted that, independent of their supernatural access to this ancient world, archaeological discoveries had authenticated and would continue to authenticate the book’s historical claims. This article documents the all-but-forgotten Latter-day Saint use of Codex Boturini-a sixteenth-century Mesoamerican codex depicting the Mexica (i.e., Aztec) migration from their mythical homeland Atzlan to Tenochtitlan, the seat of the empire’s government-as physical evidence for Book of Mormon history. In the perspective of these Saints, the pictorial manuscript was an independent record of the Book of Mormon. For decades, Mormons published images from Codex Boturini (or described them) alongside commentary that translated the pictographs through a Mormon lens.

Announces the number of languages into which the Book of Mormon has been translated, summarizes the book’s contents, and discusses its prophecies concerning the United States.

The personal account of a woman preacher’s experiences while preaching in America. Pages 137-46 discuss her encounter with the Book of Mormon and the Mormons in Kirtland. Appalled by the pretensions of such a book, she dismisses it as a deceitful fraud.

Examines the claim that Joseph Smith used Ethan Smith’s book View of the Hebrews to write the Book of Mormon. After comparing the two books the author concludes that “for any person to suggest that the Book of Mormon thesis was adopted from ideas found in the View of the Hebrews suggests that a proper comparison was not attempted”

Since the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830, its critics have endeavored to find explanations for it other than the one given by Joseph Smith. Some have suggested that the source for much of the history and theology in the Book of Mormon was an early nineteenth-century book entitled View of the Hebrews, by Ethan Smith. This book is a faithful and accurate reproduction of the 1825 second edition of View of the Hebrews. The intent in publishing it has been to make it available to all interested readers—whether critics, believers in the Book of Mormon, or scholars of early American religious history. This printing reproduces not only the original spelling and punctuation but also, as much as possible, the original layout, typefaces, and type sizes. Readers may find topics of some interest for Latter-day Saint history, but it is clear that they will need to look elsewhere to find the origin of the Book of Mormon. ISBN 1-5700-8247-2

Fawn Brodie’s statement in her book No Man Knows My History that “it may in fact have been [Ethan Smith’s] View of the Hebrews that gave Joseph Smith the idea of the Book of Mormon” is not based upon sound reasoning nor is it a historical fact.

Many see this work as the impetus for Joseph Smith’s writing the Book of Mormon. However, this work is theoretical, where the Book of Mormon is sacred narrative. This work theorizes that the ten tribes of Israel traversed the Bering Straits. Smith calls upon native American tradition and language to sustain his theory that they are descendants of the Hebrews.

A novel set in Mexico, detailing the main character’s discovery of the Book of Mormon.

For an introduction, see Benjamin L. McGuire, “Josiah’s Reform: An Introduction.”
For a counterpoint, see Kevin Christensen, “Prophets and Kings in Lehi’s Jerusalem and Margaret Barker’s Temple Theology”
Abstract: Margaret Barker has written a number of fascinating books on ancient Israelite and Christian temple theology. One of her main arguments is that the temple reforms of Josiah corrupted the pristine original Israelite temple theology. Josiah’s reforms were therefore, in some sense, an apostasy. According to Barker, early Christianity is based on the pristine, original pre-Josiah form of temple theology. This paper argues that Josiah’s reforms were a necessary correction to contemporary corruption of the Israelite temple rituals and theologies, and that the type of temple apostasy Barker describes is more likely associated with the Hasmoneans.

Latter-day Saint discussion of chastity often include Moroni 9:9 because of its suggestion that “chastity and virtue” constitute “that which is most dear and precious above all things:’ The verse also says, however, that people can be “deprived” of chastity and virtue by the violence of rape. For the prophet Mormon, the Nephites’ actions in Moriantum exceed “this great abomination of the Lamanites;’ which involved “feed[ing] the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers” (Moroni 9:8). Mormon’s strong language aims to condemn the rapists, not their victims. Using the verse to teach about chastity, though, invites interpretation from the perspective of the victims, which raises the question of what it means to understand chastity and virtue as something of which a person can be deprived, passively, by another. Such passive loss of virtue runs strongly contrary to LDS teaching about agency, including those rooted in Book of Mormon passages like 2 Nephi 2, with the consequence that victims of sexual abuse or assault can be made to feel guilty for sins that are not their own.

A tract that compares a dream experienced by Joseph Smith, Sr., with Lehi’s vision of the tree of life.

[2016 Association for Mormon Letters Finalist for Religious Non-fiction] “In The Vision of All, Joseph Spencer draws on the best of biblical and Latter-day Saint scholarship to make sense of the so-called “Isaiah chapters” in the first two books of the Book of Mormon. Arguing that Isaiah lies at the very heart of Nephi’s project, Spencer insists on demystifying the writings of Isaiah while nonetheless refusing to pretend that Isaiah is in any way easy to grasp. Presented as a series of down-to-earth lectures, The Vision of All outlines a comprehensive answer to the question of why Nephi was interested in Isaiah in the first place. Along the way, the book presents both a general approach to reading Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and a set of specific tactics for making sense of Isaiah’s writings. For anyone interested in understanding what Isaiah is doing in the Book of Mormon, this is the place to start.” [Publisher]

This article enumerates some of the lessons that can be learned from the record of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. Prayer and humility are important to learning the truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Temptation may come in attractive attire that blurs perception and weakens sensibility.

Lehi’s visionary powers are manifest when he “dreamed a dream” or has “seen a vision.” This cognate accusative construction in which the verb is followed by a noun from the same root lends authenticity to the antiquity of the Book of Mormon.

This book examines Joseph Smith’s oral recitation of the Book of Mormon in the context of the prominance and importance of orality in nineteenth-century America. “The focus of this study is the oral per­for­mance techniques that Smith used to dictate the Book of Mormon, with specific attention to the methods of preaching in Smith’s contemporary sermon culture. Thus, the central issues revolve around the methods of oral composition, rather than narrative content.” [Author]

Provides the historical details of Joseph Smith’s First Vision and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It states the testimonies of the Eleven Witnesses, and then proceeds to give archaeological evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. This evidence is comprised of Hebrew inscriptions found by the mounds built near Newark, Ohio.

Rehearses the Joseph Smith story. It contains a description of the Hill Cumorah and the visit of the angel Moroni. It gives an account of the Book of Mormon. Recounts the discovery of artifacts that had Hebrew inscriptions upon them. The testimonies of the Three Witnesses were substantiated by later affirmation.

An evangelical tract written by a former Jew supporting the Book of Mormon and its claims to antiquity. The author discusses evidence that he feels supports the Book of Mormon, such as the testimony of the witnesses, the Newark Stone, and similarities between native Americans and Hebrews.

Report of an inspection of an archaeological site in Arizona, which may corroborate the Book of Mormon.

Report of an inspection of an archaeological site in Arizona, which may corroborate the Book of Mormon.

Includes Weldon’s “archaeological observations” in Central and South America and how he relates them to the Book of Mormon. The Gentiles are expected to carry the Book of Mormon to the Lamanites.

David Whitmer, the final surviving witness for the Book of Mormon, bore an undimmed testimony of the Book of Mormon and told of the visit of one of the three Nephites.

David Whitmer, the final surviving witness for the Book of Mormon, bore an undimmed testimony of the Book of Mormon and told of the visit of one of the three Nephites.

David Whitmer, the final surviving witness for the Book of Mormon, bore an undimmed testimony of the Book of Mormon and told of the visit of one of the three Nephites.

Joseph Smith pretended to find gold plates and the Urim and Thummim in Miner’s Hill (Hill Cumorah). In reality he took the book from Spaulding’s manuscript and engaged Oliver Cowdery as an accomplice in his scheme. Martin Harris was a dupe who bore the expense of publication. Harris’s intelligent wife saw through the scheme and burned the manuscript.

After making a visit to the Hill Cumorah, located near Palmyra, the author presents a description of the hill, and considers the destruction of two Book of Mormon peoples at the site.

Monthly Book of Mormon lessons for adult women (Relief Society). Each month a verse of Book of Mormon scripture is presented with accompanying quotes from General Authorities and writers of the Church.

Based on a lack of agreement among LDS scholars as to the location of Book of Mormon events, McKeever argues that an upcoming FARMS tour cannot claim to visit Book of Mormon lands.

This thesis consists of drawings illustrating men and events in the Book of Mormon, with an attempt to capture emotional and spiritual expressions. Illustrations include Nephi, Enos, Omni, Mormon and Moroni. The author/artist explains in detail the techniques he used in the drawings.

Chapters 33-41, dedicated to the Book of Mormon, set forth the importance of the Book of Mormon in relation to the Bible, the account of Moroni’s visit to deliver the plates, the story of the Book of Mormon, the witnesses of the book, Ezekiel’s prophecy of the sticks of Joseph and Judah, the Book of Mormon as a witness for Christ, Jesus’ organization of the church in the Americas with all of the ordinances essential for salvation, Christ’s visit to his “other sheep” in America, and related items.

Review of “Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography” (1993), by Deanne G. Matheny.

A pamphlet directed to the American Indians as a missionary message. Summarizes the contents of the Book of Mormon and invites the Indians to investigate the book.

This article discusses the conundrum of written scripture’s attempt to convey doctrines and experiences that generally included audio and/or visual, such as visions, voices from heaven, and sermons. It highlights three levels of aural logics in the Book of Mormon : the book’s repeated self-characterization as “a voice crying from the dust,” the undermining of the stability of writing by sounding and hearing in the larger narrative of the book, and the process of producing the book in the 1820’s.

Discusses the wickedness of the American nation as related to the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite. He includes numerous quotes from the Book of Mormon and information about early explorers of America, and promotes the idea that the earth is a live animal.

Recent archaeological excavations help authenticate the Book of Mormon. Discussion includes such topics as iron, monuments, and temples.

A brief history of the restoration of the Church and of the translation, the contents, and the importance of the Book of Mormon. [M.D.P.]”

This article consists of comments regarding A Voice from the Dust, an edition of the Book of Mormon that the author edited and rearranged.

A recreation of the entire text of the Book of Mormon. Contains commentary and pictures of sites in Mexico that may correspond with Book of Mormon lands.

The Book of Mormon is a religious text which, like the Bible, may be subjected to various methods of analysis. This thesis discusses whether literary methods of analysis are applicable to a sacred text, and suggests rules which should govern such a method of analysis. Following these rules, the thesis provides an analysis of specific themes particular to the Book of Mormon and suggests how they are integral to the structure of the text. Then it relates the linguistic problems which the authors encountered in their transcription and translation labours, and considers the writers’ self-conscious compositional efforts in relation to the moral message which the book proclaims. Two anomalies--large sections from the Book of Isaiah and progressively intrusive editorializing--are then examined in terms of their incorporation into the thematic and structural integrity of the text. Finally, consideration is given to the hermeneutical problem the contemporary reader encounters in reading and comprehending an ancient text. The thesis demonstrates that there is a closely integrated relationship between the form and the content of the text, and argues that the authors’ achievement of their purpose--to preach a message to a distant, future audience--can be considered a sophisticated linguistic and literary accomplishment.

The story of Joseph Smith, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the Church. Originally in French in “Etoile du Deseret”

“In our era of heated political discourse, the Book of Mormon makes a surprisingly serious contribution to understanding our social troubles. David Gore argues that this Latter-day scripture invites readers to cultivate a sober, wakeful approach to political discourse. To eschew self-indulgent politics in favor of a politics oriented toward others. Being with others and being for others is never easy. But by shouldering this work to persuade and be persuaded of the good we can make our political situation more prosperous and more enduring.”

Discusses fulfillment of prophecy and the Restoration, outlines the Book of Mormon’s contents and the historical circumstances of Joseph Smith’s translation. The Book of Mormon describes the origin of the American Indians.

This article examines use of halucinogenic plants in the 19th century, drawing the conclusion that the visions experienced during Joseph Smith’s youth and the early days of the Church were the product of substance use. It retells narratives such as Joseph Smith Sr.’s visions, the exorcism of an evil spirit from Newel Knight, and the abundance of visions at the Kirtland Temple dedication with halucinogens as the catalyst.

Fictional account of the feelings and thoughts of Joseph Smith on the Book of Mormon.

This article claims that Chihuahua, Mexico was once inhabited by a brilliant civilization. A visit to the ruins shows remarkable skills in masonry, textiles, and pottery, as well as a preoccupation with warfare and ingenious designs for protection. The inhabitants of this civilization may have been the Gadianton robbers.

“The six studies in this volume share a common focus on persons who made a remarkable difference in Book of Mormon history. Beginning with the all-important founding generation of the Lehite peoples and their epic journey across Arabia, and ending with the last known survivor of the Nephite-Lamanite wars of the fourth century A.D., these studies attempt to set both heroes and heroines of the Book of Mormon narrative within their times, bringing their world to life… In all, these studies take Book of Mormon students into places where few studies have ventured, probing possibilities, that enrich our understanding of people who made a difference, who kept their faith, and who believed that God has orchestrated events in their lives.” [Author]

Internal evidence testifies that the Book of Mormon fulfills both Old Testament prophecies as well as prophecies that are found within the pages of the Book of Mormon itself.

More than ten years elapsed after the author read a Book of Mormon borrowed from a library before the missionaries knocked on the door to teach the discussions, which led to this author’s conversion.

Third Nephi 8 preserves a written account of a natural disaster at the time of Christ’s death that many assume to have been caused by volcanic activity. In a modern-day science quest, the author examines research done on glacial ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. Ice-core records can reveal volcanic gases and ashes that are carried throughout the world—the gases are detected by measuring the acidity of the ice at various layers. Many factors influence the findings and the proposed datings of the volcanic events. The ice-core records offer some evidence, though not conclusive, of a volcanic eruption around the time of Christ’s death.

Theorizes that the cataclysm in 3 Nephi resulted from a volcano (or several volcanoes) that are located near the central part of the narrow neck of land.

“This article discusses two ancient volcanic eruptions in El Salvador and their significance to the Book of Mormon” The eruptions were ca. A.D. 600 and ca. A.C.W. 260. The author predicts that further digs in these areas will uncover tremendous finds relating to the Book of Mormon.

The version available here online at Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture is a reproduction of the printed version of ATV, published in 2004–2009 by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, now a part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. No textual adjustments to the printed version have been made. ATV appears in six books and gives a complete analysis of all the important cases of textual variation (or potential variation) in the history of the Book of Mormon. It starts out with the title page of the Book of Mormon and the two witness statements, then turns to 1 Nephi and continues through the Book of Mormon to the end of Moroni.

Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown compiles recent studies by two dozen scholars who respect Professor Brown and his scholar­ ship and whose own research in this Festschrift is worthy of its honoree. A recognized expert on early Christian literature and history and a past director of Ancient Studies at BYU, Brown has devoted his career not only to expanding the scholarly literature in his field but also to building the faith of believers through more popular works such as his literary/historical study of the Book of Mormon entitled From Jerusalem to Zarahemla and the seven­-part TV documen­tary Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God.

Points out “remarkable” similarities between the Book of Mormon and the Popol Vuh, relating it to the Nephites, Mulekites, Jaredites, and various geographical locations from Book of Mormon. Compares the river Sid to the Rio Usumasinta and Zarahemla to the ruins of Palenque.

Points out “remarkable” similarities between the Book of Mormon and the Popol Vuh, relating it to the Nephites, Mulekites, Jaredites, and various geographical locations from Book of Mormon. Compares the river Sid to the Rio Usumasint and Zarahemla to the ruins of Palenque.

A review of David Charles Gore, The Voice of the People: Political Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2019). 229 pp. $15.95 (paperback).

Abstract: David Gore’s book The Voice of the People: Political Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon is a welcome reading of Book of Mormon passages which engage in conversation with the biblical politeia — those parts of the Hebrew Bible that explore the constituent parts of the Israelite governance under judges and kings. Gore asserts that the Book of Mormon politeia in Mosiah is in allusive dialogue not just with the Bible but also the Jaredite experience of kingship in Ether. This allusive (intertextual) feature is present not just in the Book of Mormon but any text (Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and other writings) in the biblical tradition. The textual connection is conveyed when the biblical Noah is a type and King Noah the anti-type. The same is true of the biblical Gideon, who is a narrative bridge between the period of the judges and the transformation to monarchy; the Book of Mormon Gideon serves a similar typological function, bridging the reign of kings to the period of judges. Our modern notions of federalism and democracy owe much to the biblical legacy of covenant and republicanism, and although the Book of Mormon political structures share some features with modern federalism, the roots of both go deep into the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Mormon politeia, also a branch of that biblical political legacy, requires that readers understand that filiation, and demands awareness of the dialogue between the Book of Mormon and the Bible on the subject, so such reading can enrich our understanding of both Hebraic scriptures.

[Page 2]There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. Every sentence is doubly significant, and the sense of our author is as broad as the world.¹

—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines.²

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Accounts of the pioneers’ trek across the plains have inspired Latter-day Saints of different lands and cultures for generations. But as the Church becomes more global, there are other histories to tell. Voyages of Faith is a new book that tells one of those histories. The first compilation of its kind, Voyages brings together scholarly research, personal reminiscences and stories of inspiration and faith of Latter-day Saints in the Pacific Islands over the last 150 years. Contributors to the book include native Pacific Islanders, notably Chieko N. Okazaki, the first non-Caucasian called to the Relief Society, Young Women’s and Primary general boards. While some chapters are scholarly in focus, others give insight into the emotions and experiences of contemporary Polynesian Latter-day Saints. Voyages chronicles early LDS Church life in the pacific, missionary work and pacific temples. There is even an account written by a surviving Church member from the Kalaupapa leper colony. The content is drawn from presentations made during the last 20 years to the Mormon Pacific Historical Society, an organization dedicated to gathering, recording and publishing LDS history of the Pacific area. Grant Underwood, BYU historian and editor of Voyages, said although the stories within the volume are about Pacific Islanders, they will inspire all who read them. This book relates wonderful accounts of ordinary people receiving extraordinary blessings, said Underwood. It’s inspirational for readers to know that God has been dealing with his children all over the world. Underwood said the publication of Voyages illustrates the worldwide nature of the Church. Stories of faith and courage can come from any culture and inspire any culture, he said. Polynesians have had many wonderful spiritual experiences that can hearten Saints everywhere. Voyages of Faith is the second volume in the Studies in Latter-day Saint History series published by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History at Brigham Young University