Appearance
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Well, you know what they say... "you get what you pay for".
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
This book changed my life and I see it improve the lives of those around me every day. The teachings within are deeply profound and have me to live happier. The book can definitely bring you closer to God....and.....it is very difficult to put down!
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
The Book of Mormon is one of those books you read over and over again, and every time you read it through you learn a little more than you did before. Some people say it's crazy and some people say it's "chloroform in print" (Mark Twain). I say that it is my source of answers, and that I've never had a question about life or God or the LDS doctrine that it did not answer.Even if the purpose of reading this book is not to gain answers, it shouldn't be judged by what I say or anyone else for that matter. It can stand on it's own.
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
I commend Doubleday for making this foundational scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints more readily available to the reading public. I first read the Book of Mormon over forty-five years ago. At that time it inspired me to try to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ. It continues to help me understand God and His dealings with His children. I hope this new edition enables people everywhere to enjoy this wonderful book.
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
I am not exaggerating about the title of this review. If that is true, there must be something to it. I enthusiastically read all the holy scripture from all religions which I can get my hands ("Mormons" should, too; when it comes to ideas, one must receive in order to give). For me, none of them has the impact, usefulness and--above all--implications that the Book of Mormon does. In the interest of brevity, I will let the reader discover those implications.I try to 'give back' a fraction of what I've gained in so many ways from this book by letting "those who have ears"--curiosity or an intuition--hear.Aside from the quality of the content itself, one of the most amazing things about the BOM to me is that there are no contradictions or flaws within its own story. The vicious "anti's", who will scrapple for any way to detract, conspicuously ignore going at this, but pro's overlook this too. The BOM is the most complex book I have ever read, even tho it was dictated to at least 4 different scribes during the course of translation. Even 2-hour movies have contradicions in their storylines. While that does not prove its veracity, and I realize that they did clean up the text to make a printer's copy, which still exists, even then there was no punctuation or formatting. The original dictation leaves still exist, but Emma Smith's decision to hide & leave them in a cornerstone led to the visible disappearance of the text during the ensuing decades and floods until it was uncovered. Perhaps advanced spectroscopy will someday reveal the text and bolster my observation.For newbies: the BOM is one of the most difficult books to intellectually "get". Once it "clicks", though, and you "get it", your life may change dramatically, no matter what religion, if any, you choose to associate with, or to what level. It is difficult to recommend a religion which has dealt so contemptuously with myself and others with long hair; the wrong skin color; or works-producing faith in the Book of Mormon's, Doctrine & Covenants', and New Testament's mandate of plain dress. However, one cannot be abused or harrassed simply reading a book. People who find the BOM difficult to read have not had the "click"; I used to be one of those people. Reading the middle of 3 Nephi and also starting at the beginning of the the true story text were breakthroughs for me. I've met many people who say, "Yeah, I read the B.o.M., I read that, the whole thing, and wasn't impressed." I invariably ask them to "tell me one thing about the Book of Mormon". Not how it came about, but actually one thing from the text of the actual Book of Mormon--one name, one story--anything. They invariably can't even give me one firsthand bit of info. I say, "Surely, if you read an entire book, you'll remember one name, one story--even anything about the book itself. You never read it, and I suggest you do, even if only to understand others who are your friends or neighbors."For olbies: I strongly recommend any Book of Mormon enthusiast get ahold of a photographic reprint of the BOM's first (1830) edition, and actually read it. It is indeed a moving experience, especially for someone who might be raised as LDS and took for granted the Book of Mormon, its current sophistication of formatting, printing, and extensive footnoting (not my case). You see a Book of Mormon with no verse separation--paragraph form--with no chapter headings, except the few which were surprisingly literally part of the translation/abridgement (it's difficult to articulate such subtle hidden blessings). Firsthand, you see how obvioiusly the typesetter had no clue regarding the content of the Book of Mormon, as you see the results of his struggle & haste to insert punctuation into a manuscript which had none whatsoever. You see the misspellings, the rudeness of the formatting, but that makes the text of the work shine through. Because the words and text are the same, familiar, and recognizable. Sure, "a-coming" was changed to "coming", etc., but the exaggeration of detractors' shrilly-announced list of changes becomes visibly demonstrated in a personal way. You gain a connection to the reality of the story behind this text on a visceral level, even in just a few pages, and the effect is even more powerful if you become fortunate enough to crack open an extant original. And keep in mind through all these faults of men that the 1830 version was a high-end book & print in its day; leather-bound, large, and costing an equivalent of well over a thousand dollars in today's money. Many people gave them away to strangers at their own personal cost--not because of some dogmatic pressure, but quite the opposite; those people were hugely going against the flow at the time.Photographic reprints are available in print as "Joseph Smith Begins His Work: Book of Mormon 1830 First Edition: Reproduced from uncut sheets" self-published by the he late, great Wilford C. Wood, but still available (print seems slightly larger than original, including fascinating memoranda); from the RLDS's Herald Publishing House (good bit smaller than the original--ISBN 0-8309-0025-X); and on CD-ROM as the "Octavo Edition" (ISBN 1-891788-08-6) in the form of color photos, page-by-page.It even took awhile for the general body of the original LDS church and even post-Smith-martyrdom sects (including the "Brighamites" (Utah/largest sect), to "get it". The members, even at the highest levels--all converts--publicly employed the Book of Mormon relatively little compared to today, being more familiar (and oftentimes more confortable with the concept of) the Bible, but also having no acces to similar Biblical formatting, concordance, and research tools which are all ridiculously accessible today but which were available in that day for the Bible.The potential benefits range from a better understanding of others & history to something on the order of Pascal's Wager: if it is false, there is little wasted and considering the fundamental extreme positivity of the Book of Mormon's exhortation, still a tremendous lot to be gained for a person of conscience. If it is true, the potential benefits, and the end thereof, cannot be measured. Despite the numerous mistakes of both extant and extinct theological branches which claim Joseph Smith, Jr. (the seer-translator) in their ancestry, the Book of Mormon remains as arguably the most pristine jewel of the entire theological world.On Library of Congress's top 20 list of most-influential books in America, any self-educated reader puts themself at a disadvantage if they cognizantly avoid this book.
THE BOOK OF MORMON: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
All I can suggest, if you're curious about this book, is to read it with a grain of salt. As you can plainly see by reading over all the "five star" ratings, there are some satisfied Mormons out there. That's a wonderful thing.Please note that if you were shopping for a Ford, you would look for other opinions other than those of satisfied Ford drivers and from Ford itself. You would also choose to talk to those who have driven Fords and find out why they chose another car. You'd read reviews that were also less than pro-Ford. Religion definately takes more thought than what car you drive.This being said, if you are interested in the Book of Mormon as a fictional book... or as an "inspired by", yet not quite historically correct book, you may enjoy getting a better understanding of your Mormon friends and neighbors. If you're looking for entertainment, you'd be better off finding a decent author. This is definately not on par with Dickens, Twain, Steinbeck, or Hugo. If you are planning on looking at this book as if it is cold hard fact, I suggest that you pick up some accompanying books on DNA research, "New World" archeology, world religion, and philosophy.Basically, I just suggest looking at this with a serious grain of salt. I'd also suggest reading over the Koran, the Sutras of Buddhism, the Talmud, and other "holy" writings. Treat this book the same way you would treat any of the others. Know that some view it as a holy scripture, and will try to tell you to view it the same way.