Grant Hardy's book achieves what it sets out to do: "to demonstrate a mode of literary analysis by which all readers, regardless of their prior religious commitments or lack thereof, can discuss the book in useful and accurate ways." That being said once I did focus my time on completing the book it was enjoyable and enlightening. Hardy is a first rate scholar of religion and Mormonism. Not bad. Yet it is unquestionably one of the most influential books ever written. I gained further light and understanding in seminary when the CES materials analyzed every single verse, allowing me to extract meaning from the entire text, and not just the "meat" verses. This book is becoming hard to find any longer. Q: Why is the Book of Mormon so hard to understand? I felt like I was back taking an English class in college. It was interesting to note their different styles. (long story.) This promise of Moroni written in the Book of Mormon has blessed me throughout my life. So, Isaiah was called to preach to an unreceptive audience. April 7th 2010 In his literary analysis, LDS scholar and University of North Carolina professor Grant Hardy approaches his study of the Book of Mormon by analyzing the distinct voices and themes of the three narrators: Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni. I've known all my life, as someone who was raised with readings of the Book of Mormon, that the book on its own terms is to be understood as the product of a set of ancient American prophet-editors. Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon is an ancient text written by ancient Jews who came to the Americas long before Columbus. Near the beginning of his book, Isaiah describes how he was called as a prophet. We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. (2 Nephi 16:9-10). Though the Book of Mormon is didactic with mostly two-dimensional and superficial characters, Hardy shows a way to recognize some of the greater complexities of the text by dipping below the surface of the words to observe the complex narrative structures developed by the internal narrator(s). To see what your friends thought of this book, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide, I've had this book on my shelf for something like 10 years, and I've only finally gotten around to reading it. But similar to the parables of Jesus, Isaiah’s words will only be meaningful to us if we make the effort to see past the symbolism and understand the underlying principles which we can apply to our lives. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Hardy examines Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni as narrators of the Book of Mormon and discusses how their purposes affect what they include and how it is written. Too early to rate, but my mind and my spirit have needed a dose of something like this! That alone made me want to read it. This book is a great help in studying the Book of Mormon This book will transform your understanding of the book -- that description's vague, I'll add more to it later. The narrators speak directly to us, the readers, and unlike the Bible, they are challenging us to do things. And now, as a college grad, this Hardy's guide provides a scholarly, non-devotional perspective on the Book. A chapter by chapter podcast to help us Understand The Book of Mormon Show more. After reading first and second Nephi, I gave up because it was too hard for me to understand. The Book of Mormon, Journal Editions can help with both your daily study and your journaling efforts. I'm going to read a rebuttal of Hardy's book by Duane Boyce found here for some perspective: I gave this book 4 stars because I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I appreciated Hardy's exhaustive treatment of the three narrators, Nephi, Mormon and Moroni. I feel the author did a good job at laying. Today, I will remember that receptiveness requires effort. The Book of Mormon is a sacred text that was published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr. The Book of Mormon is replete with a story that is so rhythmic that it is popularly referred to as the pride cycle. People that say bad things about the book have not read it. So it's not for everyone. Samuel the Lamanite denounced the people of Zarahemla for supporting… About the best of the vernacular text versions of the Book of Mormon. But getting past that, I loved his insight into the character of Mormon. The Book of Mormon London, London: "Hi there! One of the advantages of the hard copy book is the footnotes. It’s a book I will be coming back to again and again in my study of the Book of Mormon. ", In the Service of Your Fellow Beings - Mosiah 2:17, Mourn with Those That Mourn - Mosiah 18:8-10. And I did, and I'm in the middle of reading it again. Explaining to His disciples why He taught in parables, He said: Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Hardy represented some scripture heroes in a strange and kind of negative light and made some leaps on what the Narrators were thinking as though he were reading their minds. The Made Harder series is proof that making things easier does not always make them better. Prophetic teachings are generally not intended to be soothing. The Lord then explains the nature of the assignment: Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. By focusing on the narrative, he shows that there is an organizing principle at work. To create our... Mark Twain once derided the Book of Mormon as "chloroform in print." Actually, Mormon has always been my favorite person in the Book of Mormon too, probably because I am an editor myself and appreciate the task he took on editing the records to make the Book of Mormon. Hardy side steps the argument about whether the Book of Mormon is of ancient origins or not, and instead delves into the narrative of the Book of Mormon, clearly illustrating that three distinct authors - Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni - compiled the book. This portion felt less well-developed, except maybe as a springboard for furthe. After checking this book out from the library, I liked it so much I bought it so I could read it again with my highlighter. 2nd Nephi came to life as I began to understand the words of Isaiah. It was so intellectually rigorous and so fascinating overall that I read every footnote also. Get your Help Me Understand The Book of Mormon study guide at https://www.helpmeunderstandlds.c... – Kuuntele 1 Nephi 7 My Favorite Verse of Help Me Understand The Book of Mormon -jaksoa podcastista Help Me Understand The Book of Mormon heti tabletilla, puhelimella ja selaimella. 29/04/2020 Duração: 05min Teancum takes his religious liberty into his own hands. The Book of Mormon rendering of this passage is more balanced, shifting some of the responsibility for the failed communication to the listeners: Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not. When I was nine, I had trouble grasping the language of the Book, so sister missionaries had me read the Book of Mormon Reader cartoons along with the Book itself. Isaiah is difficult because the principles he teaches require some effort to fully understand. Initial response (after ~50 pages): my gads, a thoughtful examination of the Book of Mormon that is accessible to believers and nonbelievers alike. ( Log Out /  Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? Plus Ishmael does something I just can't imagine! The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. ( Log Out /  And one more disclaimer - Hardy does appear to reach at times in his conclusions, even as his findings and insights are almost always impressive. I love this book! Help you better understand the Book of Mormon by listening to this podcast. (He is a Latter-day Saint and believes it is true, I believe, but he is approaching it from a scholarly viewpoint and says it is worth studying and dissecting it as such.) Grant acknowledges the issues the book has (anachronisms, contradictions, failures, and biases) and frames them not as problems to be solved but as part of the vibrancy and humanity of the text. ". It is a wonderful way to see the work as a whole rather than as a series of separate stories/chapters. I wanted to like this book very much, and looked forward to reading it. Why Is Isaiah Quoted So Much in the Book of Mormon? Did I gain anything of lasting value? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Insights from my daily study of the Book of Mormon. That alone should draw attention and help potential readers ignore the terribly generic title and stock photograph decorating the book's cover. However, like some others, I had a hard time with Hardy's judgmental approach to several of his subjects. Hardy represented some scripture heroes in a strange and kind of negative light and made some leaps on what the Narrators were thinking as though he were reading their minds. Therefore, when we have the opportunity to hear messages from prophets, we should plan to be challenged. I wish we had more Grant Hardys in the church. A decade ago there were few scholarly books written for the non-Mormon audience about the Book of Mormon, and in another decade there will probably not be many more. Their words, written on gold plates, were I can't recommend this book enough. They compared the Book of Mormon to V. Nabokov’s Pale Fire. I did come away with an appreciation for the different contexts in which the various parts of the Book of Mormon were constructed. I have decided that 2 Nephi will always be very hard to get through for me. Personally, I found that Dr. Hardy occasionally cannot resist the urge to point out what he feels are inconsistencies of the presentation of the text against Joseph Smith as author. This is not the model of the Old Testament nor certainly of the early Nephite society. This is a book you need to invest time into to understand. I appreciate Hardy's approach of looking at the narrators of the Book of Mormon and teasing out their approaches to the material they were conveying. Create a website or blog at WordPress.com. Almost five stars, except for the latter half when the study laboriously went through example after example of parallelism. There are books and other aids out there to help you with a subject that you may not fully understand. Unlike virtually all other recent world scriptures, the Book of Mormon presents itself as an integrated narrative rather than a series of doctrinal expositions, moral injunctions, or devotional hymns. I have to buy my own copy and return the public library's copy because I. I've been a sloppy reader of scripture. And one more disclaimer - Hardy does appear to reach at times in his conclusions, even as his find. The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. God is willing to help me understand the words of His prophets, but their messages may not always be easy to hear or to understand. That being said once I did focus my time on completing the book it was enjoyable and enlightening. A chapter by chapter podcast to help us Understand The Book of Mormon Show more. Has it ever been this hard for you to forgive someone? I heard a radio interview w/ Grant Hardy and his wife. Dr. Grant Hardy received a Ph.D. from Yale University in Chinese Language and Literature and a B.A. And, Grant Hardy shows, it's far from the coma-inducing doorstop caricatured by Twain. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Matthew 13:11-16, with Joseph Smith Translation in verse 12). I love this book! He packages those principles in a way that require effort on the part of his audience, and if they are unwilling to pay that price—if they close their eyes and ears and harden their hearts—then his message will be entirely lost on them. In doing so he can help readers for whom a literal approach doesn't inspire them to look beyond literalism and dive into the language and style of scripture. Episodios. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 25:1.) Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Episódios. How can we do the same? It has helped me read the BOM in a different way and I can't stop sharing what I learn to see what other people think of it. In a vision, he saw the Lord sitting on a throne surrounded by angels. This is not an easy book to read; more like a text on the literary structure of the Book of Mormon. How to Understand the Book of Mormon is a vital study tool which will serve as a lifetime reference to those who love the Book of Mormon. I wanted to like this book very much, and looked forward to reading it. Introduction. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Reading against the text and looking for narrative omissions can illuminate narratorial motivations. This is a book you need to invest time into to understand. However, within those twenty years I doubt that there will be a book that approaches the depth and complexity in regards to the text as Dr. Hardy's volume. Even in the true church, among those who should be enlightened by the gift of the Holy Ghost, there are those who skip the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon as though they were part of a sealed book, which perhaps they are to them. Ieally it should be reissued with both the LDS (which is currently has) and RLDS versifications in the text. I first became aware of Grant Hardy when he was the editor of the Readers Edition of the Book of Mormon which I found surprisingly helpful and fresh. Only on my mission did the Book come alive without the help of aids. He also examines literary techniques, such as character development, use of outside materials, embedded documents such as letters, and parallel structure. It’s a book. How Can Recognizing Parallelisms Help Me Understand Isaiah? This is not my usual fluff I tend to gravitate to. IF you find the Elizabethan language of the original hard to understand then this make a good companion volume. This ticked me off as a veteran to hear Hardy refer to military leaders as trying to justify being righteous while they were killing the enemy during war and caused me to wonder whether Hardy had ever seen anything close to combat and had to kill someone who was trying to take away his rights and then come home where judgy people whisper about whether he was able to be righteous after killing or not. Nearly twenty-six hundred more years have passed since that time. I should also note, of course, that this is a book interested in looking at *narrative*, not theology. Mormon / ˈ m ɔːr m ən / is believed by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a prophet-historian and a member of a tribe of indigenous Americans known as the Nephites, one of the four groups (including the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) described in the Book of Mormon as having settled in the ancient Americas. I was tickled by Mark Twain's anecdote that the Book of Mormon is "chloroform in print," and impressed by Hardy's concluding remarks that yes, the Book of Mormon can sound awkward, repetitious, and derivative, "but if we direct our attention deeper, to the level of form and structure, there is much more going on than first meets the eye." And he didn't love Nephi all that much, which was interesting since Nephi is so often the hero in Latter-day Saint stories. He obviously had a favorite narrator--Mormon. My moral development owes to reading the Book at face value the first eleven times. Although I didn't agree with every conclusion Hardy comes up with, it was a very thought-provoking book which provided much insight. The basic elements of Book of Mormon geography are discussed, and the authors and keepers of the sacred records are listed. He reads between the lines, against the grain, and just pays good attention, and his hard work is richly rewarded. By focusing on the narrative, he shows that there is an organizing principle at work. Some might say mind-numbing boring. It is a wonderful way to see the work as a whole rather than as a series of separate stories/chapters. While the subtitle to this book is “A Reader’s Guide,” I think it would be more appropriate to call it “An Academic’s Guide.” This book is dense. The Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1 book. I feel the author did a good job at laying down the facts even if it may shake someones world. It is a difficult scholarly read, for me at least, but the pay off is substantial. It was off-putting, however, when he indulged. I give it a three (3) because not everything was faulty reasoning and got me to thinking. This sort of deep-dive. Once a person recognizes what the Book of Mormon actually is, it’s really not all that hard to understand. As a believer, I've used aids to read the Book of Mormon my entire life. However, within those twenty years I doubt that there will be a book that approaches the depth and complexity in regards to the text as Dr. Hardy's volume. This is not an easy book to read; more like a text on the literary structure of the Book of Mormon. Hardy dismantles the black-and-white message of the Book of Mormon by examining closely each author's motives. It took me over a year to inch my way through it sporadically while reading alongside the Book of Mormon itself. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. A chapter by chapter podcast to help us Understand The Book of Mormon Mostrar mais. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Grant Hardy taught me how I should have been reading the BOM this whole time. You could be forgiven for reading a few particularly enlightening chapters and skipping some of the minutiae that is necessary to fully flush out the author's arguments. A brief example: Grant Hardy managed to get a book about the Book of Mormon published by the prestigious Oxford Press. Hardy uses the tools of literary analysis to discover, assuming what the book itself presents on its own terms, what we can really know about those prophet-editors (Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni), and what their choices in regards to embedding other documents, making use of allusion and parallels, and much more can tell us about the world they were describing. Laura Hales: Hello. He supports this by explaining that when he and Stan Carmack sat down and read Early Modern English texts, they kept having to look up words. Grrr. I did come away with a greater sense of the deliberateness of the construction. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. This means that if a concept is taught in the Bible, the footnote for the verse in the Book of Mormon can tell you where to find it in the Bible. It took me over a year to inch my way through it sporadically while reading alongside the Book of Mormon itself. All that aside, the book is fascinating as it takes the risks of humanizing sacred stories with human flaws as well as asserting, on occasion, that perhaps the Mormon story behind its production deserves a closer look. So I began reading this as my "Sunday Novel" but being 3 months shy of reading it a full year I had quit that notion as I often didn't take the time to pick it up on Sundays. It is difficult to understand if you..." | Check out answers, plus see 5,812 reviews, articles, and 338 photos of The Book of Mormon London, ranked No.2,343 on Tripadvisor among 8,265 attractions in London. I am blown away by this analysis and feel both grateful it was recommended to me and ashamed at how my meager my understanding of the Book of Mormon was before starting this. This is not my usual fluff I tend to gravitate to. However, I generally appreciated Dr. Grant Hardy’s scholarly work, Non-Mormons, Anyone with a literary interest, LDS. This is a complicated book that examines the Book of Mormon as one would examine a work of literature. The result, particularly the first two-thirds of the book (for a variety of reasons, trying to pull any kind of internally consistent understanding of Moroni's portion of the overall book strikes me as much harder sell), is incredibly eye-opening, or at least it was to me. So much of modern life is geared to finding faster and easier ways to do the same old things. This book looks at the book of Mormon from the perspective of each of its narrators in a way I've never seen before. I’m Laura Harris Hales, your host for this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast. It has helped me read the BOM in a different way and I can't stop sharing what I learn to see what other people think of it. Fascinating and refreshing, especially for a wannabe writer. This is a book you need to invest time into to understand. It's dense and at times beyond my reading comprehension. But Hardy's guide put more color into the characters. You could be forgiven for reading a few particularly enlightening chapters and skipping some of the minutiae that is necessary to fully flush out the author's arguments. This is a complicated book that examines the Book of Mormon as one would examine a work of literature. Hardy is particularly intrigued with the fact that the book is "written" from the viewpoint of three narrators: Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni. Recommended, even from a secular perspective for larger-scale architecture in the text. Like the Savior, he utilized parables and figurative language in an effort to reach them. I really feel like I understand so much more now! If the clearly stated assessment of the Book of Mormon’s chief editor is flagrantly contradictory to Christ’s teachings while the books’ actual narrative runs requires a professional scholar to elucidate, then it is hard to understand how the Book of Mormon’s claim to restore “plain and precious things” can be taken seriously. The evidence for EmoE in the Book of Mormon is interesting, but there are a few caveats. It was interesting to note their different styles. from Brigham Young University where he studied Ancient Greek. 2 Nephi 11-25: “We Rejoice in Christ” (February 17-23) – Book of Mormon Study Notes, Doctrine and Covenants 3-5: “My Work Shall Go Forth” (January 18-24), “He Shall Do a Work…Which Shall Be of Great Worth” – 2 Nephi 3:7, “The Heart of the Children” – 3 Nephi 25:6, Old Testament Scriptures Quoted by Moroni to Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers” (January 11-17), Doctrine and Covenants 3-5: "My Work Shall Go Forth" (January 18-24), The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord - Enos 1:1, His Hand Is Stretched Out Still - 2 Nephi 19:12, 17, 21; 20:4, Why Is Jesus Called "the Author and the Finisher of Our Faith? Recommended, even from a secular perspective for larger-scale architecture in the text. I appreciate his bracketing historical claims and instead focusing on the literary richness that is there. In Understanding the Book of Mormon , Hardy offers the first comprehensive analysis of the work's narrative structure in its 180 year history. And when we do so we can see how God's voice emerges out of the text (even with its flaws) and it can act as scripture in the true sense of the word. All i have to say is this. … Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Alma 51 My Favorite Verse Help Me Understand The Book of Mormon. I read this to try to get some understanding of what Mormons are all about. Be the first to ask a question about Understanding the Book of Mormon. 29/04/2020 Duración: 05min Teancum takes his religious liberty into his own hands. He indicated that Mormon, who also had been a battle-hardened soldier, inserted the verses "...if all men had been and ever would be like unto Moroni, the powers of Hell would be shaken forever" (off the top of my head so may have quoted it incorrectly - but you get the idea - Alma 46-ish) to make a warrior seem righteous. Not an easy peasy read. This book carefully makes connections within the text that are not obvious, and with those connection makes a compelling case that The Book of Mormon is a sophisticated work of scripture, and not just propagandistic ramblings of a country boy. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes—lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed. The first critical text of the Book of Mormon was published by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, or FARMS, in 1984-86. In fact, I found parts of it downright faith-promoting, which is not something I expected from the book at all. He was fine when confining his analysis to the actual evidence in the book. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. So I began reading this as my "Sunday Novel" but being 3 months shy of reading it a full year I had quit that notion as I often didn't take the time to pick it up on Sundays. Dr. Hardy's aim is not to produce a sum. What Is the Meaning of the Phrase "Sufficient Is the Day Unto the Evil Thereof? Rather than seeing it as a jumble of odd stories,difficult and disjointed, the author offers a detailed guide to the contents that meets the needs of both believers and outsiders. Great book for believers and nonbelievers a like. This was one of the quite a few issues I had with Hardy's interpretation of motivation. Grant acknowledges the issues the book has (anachronisms, contradictions, failures, and biases) and frames them not as problems to be solved but as part of the. ( Log Out /  I enjoyed this book way more than expected even though it comes to the topic from a spiritually agnostic point of view. Everyone who is interested in the Book of Mormon should read this incredible book. Isaiah must have arrived in the middle of a meeting, because the Lord asks the assembled group without explanation, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Without knowing what he is volunteering to do, Isaiah says, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8, 2 Nephi 16:8). ... Understanding the Book of Mormon This book will really help you study the Book of Mormon and understand it. 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