{"id":71632,"date":"2019-03-16T23:47:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T05:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=71632"},"modified":"2019-03-19T22:42:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T04:42:15","slug":"on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html","title":{"rendered":"On the quality of the Book of Mormon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple \u00a0 \u00a0(LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a moving item from CNN:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you scroll down through the photographs, you\u2019ll find one that shows\u00a0Judy Gilliland at the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles. \u00a0With her name in mind, here\u2019s an item by Tad Walch that appeared in the 27 November 2017 issue of the Deseret News<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDodger Dogs, Mormons and Muslims: One couple\u2019s moral authority builds interfaith bridges\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the Area Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> based in Auckland, New Zealand:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStatement of Support for Muslim Communities and All Others Impacted by Christchurch Shootings\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGroundbreaking Held for Pocatello Idaho Temple\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps you haven\u2019t had a chance to read it:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRome Italy Temple Dedicatory Prayer\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the Book of Mormon first issued appeared\u00a0in an 1830 press-run of 5,000 copies, the response, particularly from the American frontier elite, was overwhelmingly negative.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was, said one contemporary newspaper, \u201ca bungling and stupid production.\u201d \u00a0\u201cWe have no hesitation in saying that the whole system is erroneous. . . . \u00a0There is no redeeming feature in the whole scheme; nothing to commend it to a thinking mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contrary to what such denunciations might have led one to expect, however, E. B. Grandin wasn\u2019t the last to publish the Book of Mormon. \u00a0In the years since 1830, it has appeared in multiple editions and in translations into more than 110 world\u00a0languages. \u00a0More than 150 million copies have been printed. \u00a0It has even appeared in various forms published by such institutions as Yale University Press, the University of Illinois Press, Doubleday, and Penguin Books.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It might be particularly worthwhile to point out that the latter, Penguin Books, has for at least two or three generations \u201cbeen the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, providing readers with a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines.\u201d \u00a0The value of the books that have appeared under the Penguin imprint, comments one online source, \u201cis incalculable, and their loss or destruction would diminish us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professor Laurie Maffly-Kipp, a non-LDS academic who is\u00a0Archer Alexander Distinguished Professor and Director of Religious Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote the introduction to the Penguin edition of the Book of Mormon. \u00a0\u201cHowever one decides to think about this book,\u201d she says, \u201cit is a fascinating tale well worth reading for a number of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On 16 April 2015, the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0published an interview with Freeman Dyson<\/a>, one of the most significant living mathematical physicists, who is now in his 96th year and who is retired after having long been associated with Princeton\u2019s Institute for Advanced Studies. \u00a0In that interview, entitled \u201cFreeman Dyson: By the Book,\u201d<\/a> he was asked \u201cWhat books might we be surprised to find on your shelves?\u201d \u00a0He replied, \u201c\u2018The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.\u2019 I treasure it because some of my best friends are Mormons, and the book tells a dramatic story in a fine biblical style. The reader has to wait with growing tension almost until the end of the story to reach the final climax, when Jesus arrives in America and founds his second kingdom here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The late David Noel Freedman<\/a>, a world-renowned non-Mormon biblical scholar (whom I was privileged to know), is reported to have observed that \u201cMormons are very lucky. \u00a0Their book is very beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stephen Prothero, a leading contemporary non-Mormon scholar of American religious history, labeled the Book of Mormon \u201cAmerica\u2019s most influential homegrown scripture.\u201d \u00a0The Library of Congress lists\u00a0it among the most influential works of American literature. \u00a0The LDS scholar Terryl Givens agrees, pointing out that even those who believe that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon must grant that \u201che authored the most influential, widely published and read book ever written by an American.\u201d \u00a0The Pulitzer Prize-winning non-Mormon historian Daniel Walker Howe declares that \u201cThe Book of Mormon should rank among the great achievements of American literature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given its inauspicious first publication, such modern reactions to the Book of Mormon are nothing short of remarkable. \u00a0And given its claimed origin, they present a remarkable challenge to anybody wishing to write it off as a simple-minded yarn hatched by a shallow, uneducated frontier rube.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

However Joseph Smith produced it, Latter-day Saint scholar Grant Hardy remarks, \u201cthe Book of Mormon is a remarkable text, one that is worthy of serious study.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

[These notes are based upon John W. Welch, et al., eds. \u00a0Knowing Why: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True<\/em> (American Fork: Covenant Communications, 2017), 2-3 \u2014 an important publication from Book of Mormon Central.]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Here\u2019s a moving item from CNN: \u00a0 \u201cIn photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\u201d \u00a0 If you scroll down through the photographs, you\u2019ll find one that shows\u00a0Judy Gilliland at the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles. \u00a0With her name in mind, here\u2019s an item by Tad Walch that appeared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2556,329,56,3460,4174,644,4177,4180],"class_list":["post-71632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anti-mormon","tag-anti-mormonism","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-critics","tag-literary","tag-literature","tag-quality","tag-reaction"],"yoast_head":"\nOn the quality of the Book of Mormon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   "In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack"   If you scroll down through the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the quality of the Book of Mormon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   "In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack"   If you scroll down through the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-17T05:47:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-20T04:42:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/02\/new-zealand-temple-766518-gallery.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html\",\"name\":\"On the quality of the Book of Mormon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-17T05:47:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-20T04:42:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   \\\"In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\\\"   If you scroll down through the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On the quality of the Book of Mormon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On the quality of the Book of Mormon","description":"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   \"In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\"   If you scroll down through the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On the quality of the Book of Mormon","og_description":"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   \"In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\"   If you scroll down through the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-03-17T05:47:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-20T04:42:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/02\/new-zealand-temple-766518-gallery.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html","name":"On the quality of the Book of Mormon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-03-17T05:47:04+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-20T04:42:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Here's a moving item from CNN:   \"In photos: World reacts to New Zealand terror attack\"   If you scroll down through the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/on-the-quality-of-the-book-of-mormon.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On the quality of the Book of Mormon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}