The vibrant fields of narratology and biblical narrative criticism provide common ground from which scholars who either accept or reject the historical reality of the Book of Mormon may speak to one another. To encourage research that may speak across divisions, this article provides a theoretical overview of some of the major areas within the narrative-critical approach (i.e., the intricacies and subtleties of setting, plot, narrative time, characters, point of view, narrators, and implied readers). The applied analysis of select Book of Mormon passages that accompany these overviews illustrates how borrowing from more established fields may expose new considerations, explain different aspects of the text, make familiar narratives fresh, and stimulate greater appreciation for its literary design.

The Pawnee people endured many hardships through the years, but EchoHawk explains that out of that pain was born promise. During his childhood, EchoHawk and his family had no expectation of achieving a higher education, but he, along with all of his siblings, was able to attend college. Through a football accident in high school, he gained the personal testimony he hadn’t possessed when he was baptized at 14. His testimony and his football took him to Brigham Young University, where President Spencer W. Kimball influenced him to become a lawyer, and later the attorney general of Idaho, to help his people and to be an instrument in God’s hands.

Review of How to Get the Most from the Book of Mormon (audio cassettes, 1987), by Daniel H. Ludlow.

Letters praising the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture and responses to articles published therein.

In this essay William Eggington suggests that Lehi and his descendants functioned in a society that exhibited strong characteristics of an oral society, one that had access to print but retained many features of a nonprint culture. He concludes that readers of the Book of Momon today need more effective study strategies. Readers who understand the different discourse structures, cohesive devices, rhetorical patterns, and world views used by the authors better understand the authors’ intent.

Investigates aspects of the socio-cultural structure of the Nephite, Lamanite, and Mulekite people of the Book of Mormon from the point of view of those who study the nature of oral and literate societies.” Lehi and his descendants functioned in an “Oral residual culture,” a culture that writes to accomplish some very narrow functions, but acts, to a large extent, like an oral culture. “If we somehow can begin to understand the discourse and socio-cultural structures of the Book of Mormon authors, and the natures of their text production constraints and our text perception constraints, we may more clearly comprehend the text and its vital messages.

Review of Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1875-1896 (1998), by David L. Bigler

Review of The Lives and Travels of Mormon and Moroni (2000), by Jerry L. Ainsworth

Review of As One Crying from the Dust: Book of Mormon Messages for Today (1999), by Brent L. Top

Review of Gordon L. Weight. Miracle on Palmyra's Main Street: An “Old-Time” Printer's Perspective on Printing the Original Copies of the Book of Mormon.

Many Christians and their churches have seen the fall of Adam as a great mistake that ruined God’s plan and offended him. They have assumed that God was unhappy with humanity for what Adam did in Eden. This led to the idea that we must win back his love and favor. If we could not do that by our own actions, then it had to be by Christ’s suffering, as a kind of gift that would please God. But the scriptures are clear that God did not reject us; rather, mankind rejected him. We do not need to win back God’s love; he is always ready. Instead, we need to be reconciled to God.

Review of The Folk of the Fringe (1989); Seventh Son (1987); The Red Prophet (1988); and Prentice Alvin (1989), by Orson Scott Card.

Review of Homecoming (5 vols., 1992-95); A Storyteller in Zion: Essays and Speeches (1993); and “An Open Letter to those who are concerned about 'plagiarism' in The Memory of Earth” (1993), by Orson Scott Card.

This second of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the authors have learned from Nibley. Nearly every major subject that Dr. Nibley has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the sacrament covenant in Third Nephi, the Lamanite view of Book of Mormon history, external evidences of the Book of Mormon, proper names in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates version of Genesis, the composition of Lehi’s family, ancient burials of metal documents in stone boxes, repentance as rethinking, Mormon history’s encounter with secular modernity, and Judaism in the 20th century.
Until recently, attempts to vindicate the central claim of the Book of Mormon about itself—that it is a divinely inspired book based on the history of an ancient culture—have focused mainly on external evidences. Such attempts examine parallels in the geographies, cultures, and literatures of the Middle East and ancient America (especially parallels to knowledge that have become available only since Joseph Smith’s time). These parallels are used to prove that the Book of Mormon is consistent with ancient knowledge and forms which Joseph Smith could have known only through an ancient manuscript and revelation. This essay takes a different approach, based essentially on internal evidence provided by the book itself. My reflections, stimulated by the work of Mormon scholars such as John Welch, Noel Reynolds, and Bruce Jorgensen, examine techniques developed by non-Mormon literary critics Northrop Frye and Rene Girard in their work on the Bible.

Each of us has been asked to address some important questions about the intersection of our own faith traditions and higher criticism — an apt metaphor, since “intersections” are where collisions often happen. This brings me to my topic, Protestantism and higher criticism, a messy subject to be sure.

Given the remarkable story of the discovery and divine translation of gold plates hidden in a hill by an ancient Amerindian prophet, nineteenth- century readers could be forgiven for expecting an exotic new set of doctrines in The Book of Mormon. Instead, what many readers found (when they bothered to read the book at all) was an often dull, frequently complicated narrative with the veneer of biblical language and themes. Where they expected to find a heretical “Gold Bible’’ designed to supplant and erase biblical authority, they instead found chapters lifted directly from the Bible itself. The Book of Mormon was a strange document indeed, having at once a “foundational role’’ in but also a “theological irrelevance’’ to a newly created religion, so that it was actually “the miracle the work embodied, not the doctrine it presented, that gave offense.”

Robert Espinosa was approached by Royal Skousen in 1991 with a request for him to join Skousen on the critical text project of the Book of Mormon. Espinosa shares his experience working with Skousen and the developments that they were able to make. After meeting with the owners of some fragments of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, Espinosa and Skousen were able to conserve, examine, and photograph the fragments. They also carefully analyzed the physical characteristics of the printer’s manuscript.

The Joseph Smith Papers Project seeks to do for Joseph Smith what has been done (and is being done) for George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other important early Americans: Make their papers easily accessible and more intelligible by publishing them in a carefully prepared, comprehensive scholarly edition. Historians rely on documents to gain insight into the facts, relationships, and other realities of the past, the raw materials from which they construct their narratives and interpretations. The task of scholars functioning as documentary editors is to help readers and other scholars understand the documents without getting too much in the way themselves, leaving others to construct their own narratives from these (and other) documentary resources.

Few passages in the Book of Mormon have inspired more criticism and moral outrage than the account of Nephi slaying the unconscious figure of Laban. Many point to this episode as evidence against the Book of Mormon being an inspired document. In this study we will attempt to examine the legal as well as the extra-legal ramifications of this incident. Since the law of ancient Israel was inexorably tied to the religious and moral code of the Israelites, any attempt to divorce the two would be patently artificial. Therefore, while this study will emphasize what we know about the operation of justice, that, by necessity implies a discussion of Israel’s relationship to her lawgiver, Yahweh. In analyzing this slaying, a determination must be made of which Hebrew law codes would most likely have applied during Nephi’s time. The Book of Mormon places the slaying between 592 and 598 B.C.1 The primary sources for Hebrew law of that time are the law codes of the Old Testament. They are three in number: the Code of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23:33), the Deuteronomic Code (which includes Deuteronomy 19), and the Priestly Code (which includes Numbers 35). Although there is some difference of opinion among scholars about the compilation dates of these various codes, the general consensus is that the Code of the Covenant was compiled before 800 B.C., the Deuteronomic Code around 700 B.C., and the Priestly Code in about 350 B.C.5 Comparing these dates to the date of slaying, it can be seen that the Code of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic Code were in existence before the time of the slaying and date in roughly the same time period as the slaying. The Priestly Code, however, was compiled after the exile in Babylon and almost 250 years after the slaying.

Review of Thomas R. Valletta, gen. ed. The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families. Review of Thomas R. Valletta, gen. ed. The New Testament for Latter-day Saint Families.

Samuel, Moroni's Young Warrier (1993), by Clair Poulson.

Review of Frank B. Salisbury. The Case for Divine Design: Cells, Complexity, and Creation.

In this essay James Faulconer, a BYU professor of philosophy and dean of honors, outlines some general suggestions for scripture study. He presents his extensive notes on Mosiah 4 to show the treasures that can be found by careful and thorough scripture study. His study methods include considering context, examining word meaning, and looking for patterns.

Faulconer, though not a postmodernist himself, argues that postmodernism is misunderstood and should be evaluated more thoroughly. Accordingly, he compares postmodernism with modernism in an effort to provide a more complete view of the two schools of thought.

This article studies human memory and discusses why remembering is integral aspect of making covenants with God.

The New Testament repeatedly refers to the Apocalypse, insinuating that the end of the world is forthcoming. However, Faulconer suggests that the Apocalypse must begin with a restoration of gospel truths, and such a restoration can occur on an individual level. When Christ taught about an Apocalypse, he may have been referring to the conversion that each person experiences as he or she accepts these truths.

The book of Romans can be difficult to understand, and it is used more than any other biblical book to challenge LDS doctrine. “When we understand Romans, it is obvious that not only need we not fear having others discuss Paul’s teachings, but we can use those very teachings to teach the truthfulness of the gospel understood through latter-day revelation.”
In commenting on Romans 1 verse by verse, author James E. Faulconer touches on such topics as faith, holiness, obedience, service to Christ, personal conversion and repentance, and becoming true saints. Romans 1: Notes and Reflections can be a valuable tool for those who are studying the book of Romans or looking for new ways to study other scripture.

Cultivate your love for the scriptures and deepen your knowledge with the help of a scripture study process compiled by James E. Faulconer. Rich scripture study is facilitated by tools and techniques that help us focus on what the scriptures can teach us. This study aid offers pointers and suggestions that will familiarize beginning students of the scriptures with the many resources available to them, as well as help more experienced students improve the overall effectiveness of their scripture study.
In this fascinating book, Faulconer discusses a helpful method and the purpose of outlining, an in-depth method of cross-referencing, how to ask cogent and thought-provoking questions about the scriptures, the benefits of using dictionaries and concordances, the relation between words and ideas apparent through rhetorical studies, and using the valuable reference tools in the LDS edition of the scriptures. He then provides sample notes developed using the study tools he describes to show how research and pondering can make scripture study even more meaningful.

This is not an essay in the usual sense. Instead, it is a close reading of Moroni 10, looking verse by verse at what Mornoi might be teaching us. The overarching question is, to what does Moroni exhort us as he seals his book and writes his final words? Examining each of Morni’s eight exhortations, Faulconer shows one way to study scriptures and perhaps to think about them afresh. In addition to the importantadmonition to pray about the truth of the Book of Mormon, he sees in this chapter a message of God’s mercy and of our need for charity.

Review of Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (2007), by Brant A. Gardner.

Review of “Poetic Language in Nineteenth Century Mormonism: A Study of Semiotic Phenomenology in Communication and Culture” (1990), by Michiko Takayama

Faulconer discusses the evolution of his testimony of the Book of Mormon; years passed before he recognized the importance of that book to his life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After reading an article explaining the tree of life that is written about in 1 Nephi, he gained a deeper understanding of the purpose of the Book of Mormon—that the book prepares members of the church to enter into covenants with God in the temple and explains what those covenants are. In addition to that objective, the book testifies of and brings people to Jesus Christ.

In 1830 the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation that became known as the Articles and Covenants, later included in the Doctrine and Covenants as section 20. In this paper Scott Faulring discusses the emergence and significance of that revelation that would become a constitutional and procedural guide to regulating church affairs.

Concepts from the Book of Mormon contributed to how the church was built up and conducted. Oliver Cowdery was instructed to draw upon the Book of Mormon in formulating his vision of how the restored church should be organized and regulated. His 1829 Articles of the Church of Christ were a precursor to Joseph Smith’s 1830 Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 20). Three key aspects of church organization that originated in the Book of Mormon include baptism and priesthood authority, the ordination of priests and teachers, and the administration of the Lord’s supper.

Review of In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (1997), by Todd M. Compton

This essay evaluates Grant Hardy’s Understanding the Book of Mormon, particularly assessing Hardy’s claim that narrative theory can allow readers from a variety of perspectives to (at least temporarily) sidestep the Book of Mormon’s controversial history and engage with the text as a literary artifact. The paper argues that Hardy’s approach facilitates a deeper understanding of the book’s complex deployments of narrative voice and temporality but ultimately cannot efface the interpretive differences that stem from such divergent positions as belief and unbelief.

Review of Matthew L. Jockers, Daniela M. Witten, and Craig S. Criddle. “Reassessing authorship of the Book of Mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification.”

Review of Matthew L. Jockers, Daniela M. Witten, and Craig S. Criddle. “Reassessing authorship of the Book of Mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification.”

During the time the Latter-day Saints lived in Nauvoo, John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood published Incidents of Travel in Central America, an illustrated report of the first discovery of ancient ruins in Central America by explorers. These discoveries caused great excitement among the Saints, and subsequently five editorials appeared in the Times and Seasons commenting on what these meant for the church. Although the author of the editorials was not indicated, historians have wondered if Joseph Smith penned them since he was the newspaper’s editor at the time. We examined the historical evidence surrounding the editorials and conducted a detailed stylometric analysis of the texts, comparing the writing style in the editorials with the writing styles of Joseph Smith, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff—the only men involved with the newspaper during the time the editorials were published. Both the historical and stylometric evidence point toward Joseph Smith as the most likely author of the editorials. Even if he did not write them alone, he took full responsibility for the contents of the newspaper during his editorial tenure when he stated, “ I alone stand for it.”

The abundance of skeptical theories about who wrote the Book of Mormon has led many scholars to seek scientific data to discover the answer. One technique is stylometry. Having first been developed in the 1850s, stylometry seeks to find the ” wordprint” of a text. Although these stylistic studies are not as accurate as a human’s fingerprint, they can give researchers a good idea either of differences in style between authors or of who might have written a text from a list of possible authors. Beginning in the 1960s individuals have completed four major stylometric studies on the Book of Mormon, studies that varied in both findings and quality of research. In addition to these four studies, this article presents a fifth study—using extended nearest shrunken centroid (ENSC) classification—that incorporates and improves on the earlier research.

One of the issues that swirls around discus- sions of Book of Mormon geography is the rightful place the editorials in the 1842 Times and Seasons must take. The story of the editorials begins with Joseph’s receipt of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chaipas, and Yucatan, published in 1841. In early 1842, the Times and Seasons published several enthu- siastic articles that drew attention to the discoveries of Stephens and Catherwood in Central America and compared them favorably with the Book of Mormon. Two of these articles were signed by the editor, while three other articles were unsigned. Historical sources indicate that the Prophet Joseph Smith served as editor of the paper for all of the issues published between March 1 through the October 15, 1842. During this time, however, apostles John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff assisted the Prophet in his work in the printing office. Since these articles were not specifically signed by Joseph Smith, some have questioned whether the Prophet wrote them himself, or if someone else wrote them, with or without his approval.

Review of Clark H. Pinnock. Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness.

Letters praising the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture and responding to articles published therein.

Review of Lehi's Isle of Promise: A Scriptural Account with Word Definitions and a Commentary.

Review of Thomas R. Valletta, gen. ed. The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families. Review of Thomas R. Valletta, gen. ed. The New Testament for Latter-day Saint Families.

Review of The Easy-to-Read Book of Mormon: A Learning Companion (1995), by Lynn Matthews Anderson.

Review of Mormons and the Bible: The Place of Latter-day Saints in American Religion (1991), by Philip L. Barlow.

Review of Jon Krakauer. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of a Violent Faith.

Review of Mormonism: Changes, Contradictions, and Errors (1995), by John R. Farkas and David A. Reed

Review of Christopher Cain (producer). September Dawn and Review of Carole Whang Schutter. September Dawn.

Bibliography of Sidney B. Sperry’s writings.

Responses to the following questions appear here: “Did the Nephites have authority to sacrifice?” and “Did the Nephites sacrifice first-born animals contrary to the law of Moses?”

Excerpts from a letter written in 1962 reveal how Jakeman’s interpretation of Stela 5 quickly stimulated a body of folklore among some Latter-day Saints.

Five-year citation index.

Robert J. Matthews was influenced by the Book of Mormon to pursue his studies of the Joseph Smith Translation. He was intrigued by what the Book of Mormon said about the Bible. To further one’s understanding of the Book of Mormon, Matthews recommends further study on the Near East and an analysis of the internal structure of the book. Royal Skousen’s work on the comparative text, Hugh Nibley’s Book of Mormon writings, and articles in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism on the Book of Mormon are sources for increasing one’s knowledge of that book.

Summary of current issue.

Photographic presentation of Book of Mormon editions in English.

Recent genetic studies indicate that Polynesians were connected to ancient America. Careful reading of native sources led European scholar Michel Graulich to conclude that pre-Columbian Americans held beliefs that may arise out of the Christian tradition. Whether he or those he opposes are correct, the caution to allow more than one interpretative stance remains appropriate. Interpretations of scriptural history are possibly “contingent upon the theoretical inclinations” of the investigators. The historical process of the Anufo people of the Ivory Coast territory suggests how “robbers” or “secret societies” could have grown to be players on the sociopolitical scene in Mesoamerica.