Evidence #409 | June 19, 2023
Book of Mormon Evidence: A Classic
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
Whether one assesses the Book of Mormon on literary, historical, or religious grounds, it can be considered a true “classic”—that is, an influential and aesthetically rich work of lasting value. This type of document, however, is rather unexpected as having come from an author like Joseph Smith.On August 25, 1829, a prosperous landowner named Martin Harris and a young publisher named Egbert B. Grandin entered into a contract. For $3,000 (around $100,000 today),1 Grandin agreed to print 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon.2 The sale of the Book of Mormon was announced on Friday, March 26, 1830, in Grandin’s newspaper The Wayne Sentinel.3
With the important exception of a number of converts, early reactions to the Book of Mormon were almost universally negative, especially in the press.4 One contemporary paper dismissed the Book of Mormon as “a bungling and stupid production.” The author further commented, “We have no hesitation in saying that the whole system is erroneous .... There is no redeeming feature in the whole scheme; nothing to commend it to a thinking mind.”5
Today one finds a much different attitude. Whether or not one believes in its religious claims, the Book of Mormon is now widely recognized as a “classic” work of great religious, historical, and literary value. What exactly is a classic? While this question is somewhat debatable, a classic is typically defined as any work of literature, music, drama, or art that has lasting and widespread appeal, first-rate creative or aesthetic quality, profound insight into the deepest realities of the human condition, or otherwise generates thoughtful reflection in the lives of those who interact with the work in question.
To begin with, one might qualify the Book of Mormon as a classic by looking at the number of respectable presses that have published it. These include Yale University Press,6 University of Illinois Press,7 Doubleday,8 Oxford University Press,9 and Penguin Books.10 The latter press is especially noteworthy, as “for more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been 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.” The value and significance of titles published under the Penguin imprint “is incalculable, and their loss or destruction would diminish us all.”11
As a classic, the multi-faceted Book of Mormon can be read not only for its valuable religious teachings and its impact on American religious history, but also for its high literary quality and compelling narrative.12 Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp introduced the Penguin edition of the Book of Mormon by affirming, “However one decides to think about this book, it is a fascinating tale well worth reading for a number of reasons.”13 The eminent physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson similarly related that he personally “treasures” the Book of Mormon for its “dramatic story in a fine biblical style.”14
Concerning the book’s poetic qualities, David Noel Freedman—a widely respected non-Latter-day Saint biblical scholar—reportedly remarked, “Mormons are very lucky. Their book is very beautiful.”15 The book continues to attract considerable attention in mainstream academia, with scholars of various religious and secular backgrounds analyzing the text from a number of vantages.16 Summarizing this body of work, Grant Hardy concluded that however Joseph Smith brought it forth, “the Book of Mormon is a remarkable text, one that is worthy of serious study.”17
So far-reaching is the Book of Mormon’s influence that it has been ranked among the most influential works of American literature by no less than the Library of Congress.18 Commenting on this achievement, Stephen Prothero, a non-Latter-day Saint scholar of American religion, called the Book of Mormon “America’s most influential homegrown scripture.”19 This sentiment has been shared by others, including the historian Daniel Walker Howe, who simply remarked, “The Book of Mormon should rank among the great achievements of American literature.”20
The Book of Mormon’s Religious Influence
The Book of Mormon may also be considered a classic in the sense that it has shaped the religious worldview of millions of men and women from diverse cultures around the world.21 One early reader, Parley P. Pratt, remembered his first encounter with the book as leaving an indelible impact on his life. “I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page,” he recalled.
I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep. As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists. My joy was now full, as it were, and I rejoiced sufficiently to more than pay me for all the sorrows, sacrifices and toils of my life.22
Thus, for many readers, the book’s profound and life-changing doctrinal message is just as miraculous as the unparalleled story of its discovery and translation.23
Conclusion
This situation would be rather surprising if the Book of Mormon were indeed a religious fraud, as many of its critics have concluded. Not only is the book full of authentically ancient literary and cultural features.24 Not only does it manifest a significant degree of complexity, consistency, and literary sophistication.25 Not only was it produced under unusually constraining circumstances in a short amount of time by a poorly educated writer.26 But, to top it off, it actually has had the type of transcendent, life-altering influence that one would expect from a divinely revealed document.
For those who simply cannot accept its religious claims, it must be conceded that the Book of Mormon is nevertheless an extraordinary work of literary, historical, and religious value—a true “classic” in nearly every sense of the word, and one wholly unexpected as coming from a young, poorly educated farmer like Joseph Smith.
Notwithstanding the criticisms of early and contemporary antagonists, the Book of Mormon continues to be read, studied, and cherished by millions of believers and non-believers around the globe. Well over 150 million copies of the book in 110 languages have been printed since its initial 5,000 copy run in 1830.27 As Terryl Givens observed, even those who consider Joseph Smith its author must recognize that “he authored the most influential, widely published and read book ever written by an American.”28
Terryl L. Givens, By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Terryl L. Givens, The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009).
Paul C. Gutjahr, The Book of Mormon: A Biography (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012).
Grant Hardy, “The Book of Mormon,” in The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism, ed. Terryl L. Givens and Philip L. Barlow (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015), 134–148.
- 1. This amount was derived by checking the CPI Inflation Calculator. It posits that $100 dollars in 1830 would be worth approximately $3,305.73 today (about 33 times the original value).
- 2. See Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, “‘For the Sum of Three Thousand Dollars’,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 4–11, 66–67. See also, Susan Easton Black and Larry C. Porter, Martin Harris: Uncompromising Witness of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2018); Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT and Salt Lake City, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, and Deseret Book, 2015), 181–197.
- 3. “The Book of Mormon,” The Wayne Sentinel vol. 7, no. 29 (Palmyra, N. Y., Friday, March 26, 1830).
- 4. See Daniel C. Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction: ‘In the Hope That Something Will Stick’: Changing Explanations for the Book of Mormon,” FARMS Review 16, no. 2 (2004): xi–xxxv; Brian C. Hales, “Naturalistic Explanations of the Origin of the Book of Mormon: A Longitudinal Study,” BYU Studies Quarterly 58, no. 3 (2019): 105–148.
- 5. “The Mormons,” The Episcopal Recorder 18, no. 7 (Philadelphia, PA, Saturday, April 9, 1840).
- 6. Royal Skousen, ed., The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, 2nd ed. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2022).
- 7. Grant Hardy, ed., The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition (Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2003).
- 8. Joseph Smith, Jr., trans., The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (New York, NY: Doubleday, 2004).
- 9. Grant Hardy, ed., The Annotated Book of Mormon (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2023); note that this book’s publication is currently pending but should be available in August of 2023.
- 10. Joseph Smith, Jr., trans., The Book of Mormon (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2008).
- 11. “About Penguin Classics,” online at penguin.com.
- 12. See generally John W. Welch, “Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon,” in Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis, ed. John W. Welch (Hildesheim: Gerstenberg Verlag, 1981; reprint Provo, Utah: Research Press, 1999), 198–210; Richard Dilworth Rust, Feasting on the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997); James T. Duke, The Literary Masterpiece Called the Book of Mormon (Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 2003); Donald W. Parry, Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2007); Grant Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010); Joseph Spencer, An Other Testament: On Typology, 2nd ed. (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2016).
- 13. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp, “Introduction,” in The Book of Mormon, viii.
- 14. Freeman Dyson, “Freeman Dyson: By the Book,” New York Times, April 16, 2015, online at nytimes.com.
- 15. David Noel Freedman, quoted in John W. Welch, “What Does Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon Prove?” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 206.
- 16. See generally Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois, 1984), 115–142; Terryl L. Givens, By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002); Margaret Barker, “Joseph Smith and Preexilic Israelite Religion,” in The Worlds of Joseph Smith: A Bicentennial Conference at the Library of Congress, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: BYU Press, 2006), 69–82; Terryl L. Givens, “‘Common-Sense’ Meets the Book of Mormon: Source, Substance, and Prophetic Disruption,” in Revisiting Thomas O’Dea’s The Mormons: Contemporary Perspectives, ed. Cardell K. Jacobson, John P. Hoffman, and Tim B. Heaton (Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2008), 79–98; The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009); Margaret Barker and Kevin Christensen, “Seeking the Face of the Lord: Joseph Smith and the First Temple Tradition,” in Joseph Smith Jr.: Reappraisals after Two Centuries (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2009), 143–172; Paul C. Gutjahr, The Book of Mormon: A Biography (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012); John A. Tvedtnes, “Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon,” in Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 4 vols., ed. Geoffrey Khan (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 195–196; “Names of People: Book of Mormon,” in Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, 787–788; Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel According to Mormon,” Scottish Journal of Theology 68, no. 2 (2015): 218–234; Grant Hardy, “The Book of Mormon,” in The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism, ed. Terryl L. Givens and Philip L. Barlow (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015), 134–148.
- 17. Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon, 273.
- 18. “Books that Shaped America,” Library of Congress.
- 19. Stephen Prothero, “My Take: Library of Congress’s ‘books that shaped America’ list plays down religion,” The CNN Belief Blog, June 3, 2012.
- 20. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848, The Oxford History of the United States (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007), 314.
- 21. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Upon All the Earth,” Evidence# 251, October 5, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 22. Parley P. Pratt, The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt (Chicago, IL: Law, King & Law, 1888), 38.
- 23. See Evidence Centra, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Translation (Main Category),” online at evidencecentral.org.
- 24. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Culture (Main Category),” online at evidencecentral.org; Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Literary Features (Main Category),” online at evidencecentral.org.
- 25. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Complexity (Main Category),” online at evidencecentral.org.
- 26. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Translation (Main Category),” online at evidencecentral.org.
- 27. Ryan Kunz, “180 Years Later, Book of Mormon Nears 150 Million Copies,” Ensign, March 2010, 74–76; “Book of Mormon in 110 Languages,” Ensign, May 2015, 137.
- 28. Terryl Givens, The Latter-day Saint Experience in America (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004), 236.