A Classic

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.