wales@ucla-cs.UUCP (04/02/85)
Robert D. Zarcone <rdz@ccice5.UUCP> asked for some pointers to addi-
tional readings on the LDS (Mormon) church. I am posting my reply to
the net, rather than mailing it directly to Mr. Zarcone, because I think
it may be of general interest.
"Mormonism" is a very difficult subject to write on totally objectively,
since the way the writer views the topic is almost certainly going to be
heavily colored by his/her opinion. This is certainly true of the anti-
Mormon literature, and -- without minimizing my own pro-Mormon view in
any way -- I will freely admit that most literature about my church
written by members thereof is very openly pro-Mormon.
Regarding doctrinal sources, I would first direct you to the volumes we
use as scripture. These are the Bible (we use the King James Version in
English-speaking countries), the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Cove-
nants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
Our most important non-scriptural doctrinal works would probably be the
two volumes "Jesus the Christ" and "The Articles of Faith", both written
by James E. Talmage in the early 1900's.
For a general treatment of our history, I would suggest "The Mormon
Experience" by Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton (Vintage Books,
1979; ISBN 0-394-74102-1). The authors are the LDS Church's historian
and his assistant, respectively; both have been history professors at
various universities. This is probably the best book out at this time;
although admittedly favorable to the Church, it is definitely not a
whitewash. "The Mormon Experience" is not a doctrinal work, and prob-
ably won't answer your more in-depth questions about LDS beliefs.
As for more-or-less "raw" or "primary" historical sources, there are
three important multi-volume works.
(1) The seven-volume "History of the Church" is basically Joseph Smith's
journal (Volume 7, though, covers the first few years of Brigham
Young's leadership).
(2) "Comprehensive History of the Church" (also about seven volumes, I
think) was written by B. H. Roberts and published around 1930 for
the centennial of the Church's founding (6 April 1830).
(3) The 25-volume "Journal of Discourses" is a collection of speeches
made by various Church leaders primarily during the second half of
the 19th century in Utah. With regard to the Journal of Discourses,
two points need to be kept clearly in mind:
(a) Some of the people who recorded these speeches didn't do a very
good job -- things were left out and/or garbled -- and as a re-
sult some pretty crazy things (which no Mormon believes or has
ever believed) can be found in the Journal of Discourses if you
look hard enough. This fact has given anti-Mormon writers no
end of enjoyment. :-}
(b) Not everyone quoted in the Journal of Discourses was what you
might consider an authorized expositor of Church doctrine and
practice. It has long been our understanding that only the
Lord's prophet (the President of the Church) can make original,
authoritative statements regarding Church teachings.
We do not, in general, use the Journal of Discourses as a basis for
teaching doctrines that are not adequately substantiated elsewhere.
As for where you might find any or all of the above:
(1) The KJV Bible can, of course, be found essentially anywhere. We did
publish our own edition of the KJV in 1979 (no textual changes, but
the footnotes, concordance, dictionary, and maps are brand-new).
One very useful innovation in the 1979 LDS edition was that the
little letters stuck into the body of the text as references to the
footnotes start over again with each verse -- rather than each chap-
ter as has traditionally been done (i.e., the footnotes in a given
chapter are identified something like "1a", "1b", "1c", "2a", "2b",
"3a", etc.).
(2) The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price
are published by the LDS Church (of course) -- usually all three in
a single cover, though the Book of Mormon is published by itself as
well. If you can't find these in a nearby library, you should be
able to find them through the Church.
If you live near a university, I would suggest looking in the phone
book under "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" for an
"Institute of Religion" (our college-level supplementary religious
instruction program). Most Institutes have sizable LDS libraries
and would be more than willing to let you come over and browse
through their collections (without applying undue pressure on you to
convert, I should add).
If there is no Institute in your area, you might start calling other
phone-book listings for the Church. You should easily be able to
find these books -- either for free or for just a few dollars. If
you make contact through full-time missionaries or a local congrega-
tion ("ward"), you will probably find that people assume you are
interested in converting. If so, great (no smiley-face); if not,
just say so.
(3) As for the other books listed above (Jesus the Christ, Articles of
Faith, and the multi-volume historical works), I would make the same
suggestions. Check your local libraries -- particularly university
libraries -- and/or a local Institute of Religion. Full-time mis-
sionaries should have easy access to copies of "Jesus the Christ"
and "Articles of Faith", though probably not to the historical com-
pilations. Again, if your intent is not to convert, but simply to
find out information, be honest and up-front; most people will re-
spect your wishes (though, admittedly, they may hold out hope that
you might change your mind after finding out more).
I hope this helps some.
--
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Rich Wales
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall
Los Angeles, California 90024 // USA
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ARPANET: wales@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA
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