Book of Mormon Reader's Edition by Grand Hardy

[andypg]

I recently listened to an interview with Grant Hardy and his wife where they talked about the book of Mormon and the edition he edited, The Book of Mormon: Reader's Edition. From what I could tell from the interview, Hardy adds quotation marks and puts it in paragraph form (more carefully than E.B. Grandin who only started a paragraph whenever he came across "And it came to pass"). He also added some explanitory notes.

 

One of the things they mentioned that it can be difficult to read the Book of Mormon (and the Bible) at times when it's presented in the one verse per line format. I tend to agree. His wife mentioned that since reading it in paragraph form she has come to a much better understanding of the book and has fallen in love with it all over again.

 

Figuring that I've been having trouble getting through the Book of Mormon myself (I have a testimony of it, but can't get myself to read or finish it) I decided to give the reader's edition a try. Anyone here ever heard of it or used it? Have any thoughts about it one way or the other?

 

It sounded promising in the interview (but seeing as he's the editor he's somewhat biased) but I haven't found many reviews of it online.

[The Folk Prophet]

I think it could be very beneficial to read it this way as an addition to other reading and studying. I would not make this an exclusionary means of reading it.

[prisonchaplain]

FWIW Amazon readers gave it mostly 5-star ratings (56 of them, I believe).  The 3 who did not were arguing against the BoM itself, not this edition.  So, it seems promising.  If I run across one, I'll give it a going over, and post my own thoughts.

[andypg]

PC, one thing I've noticed about any edition of the Book of Mormon available on Amazon either in favor of the Book of Mormon or anti-Book of Mormon. There is very little discussion on the edition itself. The Reader's Edition sounds promising. I find it really hard to get through it as it is now.

 

I ordered that one on Amazon to try it out and will post some thoughts when I read it. I'll probably be reading Royal Skousen's The Earliest Text that is formatted in sense lines.

[The Folk Prophet]

PC, one thing I've noticed about any edition of the Book of Mormon available on Amazon either in favor of the Book of Mormon or anti-Book of Mormon. There is very little discussion on the edition itself. The Reader's Edition sounds promising. I find it really hard to get through it as it is now.

 

I ordered that one on Amazon to try it out and will post some thoughts when I read it. I'll probably be reading Royal Skousen's The Earliest Text that is formatted in sense lines.

 

I'll be interested to hear your report.

[andypg]

The book arrived today. Went to the school library across the street to read it.

The introduction is very helpful in giving a background of the Book of Mormon for those not familiar with it and he has a few Appendixes in the back on various topics (poetry in the Book of Mormon, family tree, maps, timeline so you don't get confused). The most helpful to me was a flow chart of the golden plates because I'm always confused by that.

As for the text itself, it's the 1920 edition because it's in the public domain. Like I said above, it's in paragraph form, the verse numbers are smaller. There is no subheading on top of each chapter with a summary. Instead Hardy gives a one line explanation of who is talking or what is happening like in modern Bibles. There can be one heading that takes up multiple chapters or multiple headings in one chapter. He also has footnotes that indicate the original 1830 chapter breaks.

Reading this edition was much easier than reading the official church publication. Given the format, it flowed much nicer and it was easier to understand what was happening and who was speaking. It also formatted poetical verses as poetry so it reads beautifully.

In one sitting I read the first 10 chapters of 1 Nephi. I have never read that much of the Bible. Usually I stop after 1 chapter and sometimes I am confused at the end of it.

It may not be for everyone, but so far I am loving it and am picking up on. Ore things than I have before. If it continues being this great of a read I may make this my permanent copy for personal study.

[jerome1232]

The book arrived today. Went to the school library across the street to read it.

The introduction is very helpful in giving a background of the Book of Mormon for those not familiar with it and he has a few Appendixes in the back on various topics (poetry in the Book of Mormon, family tree, maps, timeline so you don't get confused). The most helpful to me was a flow chart of the golden plates because I'm always confused by that.

As for the text itself, it's the 1920 edition because it's in the public domain. Like I said above, it's in paragraph form, the verse numbers are smaller. There is no subheading on top of each chapter with a summary. Instead Hardy gives a one line explanation of who is talking or what is happening like in modern Bibles. There can be one heading that takes up multiple chapters or multiple headings in one chapter. He also has footnotes that indicate the original 1830 chapter breaks.

Reading this edition was much easier than reading the official church publication. Given the format, it flowed much nicer and it was easier to understand what was happening and who was speaking. It also formatted poetical verses as poetry so it reads beautifully.

In one sitting I read the first 10 chapters of 1 Nephi. I have never read that much of the Bible. Usually I stop after 1 chapter and sometimes I am confused at the end of it.

It may not be for everyone, but so far I am loving it and am picking up on. Ore things than I have before. If it continues being this great of a read I may make this my permanent copy for personal study.

Having poetry as poetry would certainly be interesting.

[andypg]

Here's an example from 1 Nephi 2:19-24:

 

Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith,

for thou hast sought me diligently,

with lowliness of heart.

And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments,

ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise;

yea, even a land which I have prepared for you;

yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee,

they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments,

thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

For behold,

in that day that they shall rebel against me,

I will curse them even with a sore curse,

and they shall have no power over thy seed

except they shall rebel against me also.

And if it so be that they rebel against me,

they shall be a scourge unto thy seed,

to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

[The Folk Prophet]

Here's an example from 1 Nephi 2:19-24:

 

Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith,

for thou hast sought me diligently,

with lowliness of heart.

And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments,

ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise;

yea, even a land which I have prepared for you;

yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee,

they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments,

thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

For behold,

in that day that they shall rebel against me,

I will curse them even with a sore curse,

and they shall have no power over thy seed

except they shall rebel against me also.

And if it so be that they rebel against me,

they shall be a scourge unto thy seed,

to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

 

Wait. That doesn't rhyme!

[dahlia]

This sounds interesting. I struggle with the BOM and wish I could recite chapter and verse the way the folks do in Sunday school. I don't really know any of the people other than Helaman, and that's becaue I learned the hymn first and went to read what the story was about.  If somene accuses me of being like a Lamanite, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I could do better with my scripture reading, but I need it in a format that supports those of us who haven't heard BOM stories since birth.

[mordorbund]

 I don't really know any of the people other than Helaman, and that's becaue I learned the hymn first and went to read what the story was about. 

 

If you can remember the Nephi of 3 Nephi 11 fame (resurrected Jesus visits the Americas), then you can get 5 others under your belt right away too.

 

From askgramps:

 

 

[T]he man Jesus chose to be His disciple in the Americas was Nephi, the son of Nephi, the son of Helaman, the son of Helaman, the son of Alma, the son of Alma.

[dahlia]

I am reading 'Understanding the Book of Mormon' by Hardy. Is this the same volume refered to by the OP?

 

Finally! Something that let's me consider the BOM without shouts of 'it's true!' or 'it's a fake!' (both of which tend to make one stop thinking)  but just analyzing how it's written, how the various styles of writing convey different ideas and concepts, etc.

 

Two chapters in so far, and very happy to have found it. It may be difficult for some people without a background in literary analysis, content analysis, or used to reading college level matterial. This is not a diss, I'm just saying that the book is going to make you use your mind and is not light reading. It is probably not for those who faint at the idea that the BOM may be just a really interesting religious book - whether it was translated or imagined.

 

From the book, "My goal is not to move readers from one side to the other but rather to provide a way in which they can speak across religious boundaries and discuss a remarkable text with some degree of rigor and insight."  Yes!

[andypg]

Dahlia, it's a separate book. They go together, but The Reader's Edition is the actual text of the Book of Mormon, not just an explanation or textual analysis. Since reading it I have understood the Book of Mormon so much more and am actually working on (thinking through) some theology from the text I haven't heard anyone talk about. (Relation between the mention of tents and temples).

 

I know Mormon Stories may be seen as taboo (especially recently) but they did a wonderful interview with the editor of both The Reader's Edition and Understanding the Book of Mormon, Grant Hardy and his wife Heather. The interview was conducted by a relative of Richard Bushman. They really love the Book of Mormon and inspired me to really get back to reading it! Here's a link to the interview, really wonderful stuff http://mormonstories.org/250-251-grant-heather-hardy-book-of-mormon-scholarship/

[The Folk Prophet]

I know Mormon Stories may be seen as taboo (especially recently)

 

??? Explain, please?

[andypg]

??? Explain, please?

I'm guessing the podcast as a whole is looked down upon especially recently given what's happening now with John Dehlin. Though I must say some of his interviews (Bushman, the Givens's, and the Hardy's) are actually really good and highly recommended.

[The Folk Prophet]

I'm guessing the podcast as a whole is looked down upon especially recently given what's happening now with John Dehlin. Though I must say some of his interviews (Bushman, the Givens's, and the Hardy's) are actually really good and highly recommended.

 

Oh...yeah. I get it. The podcast Mormon Stories. I was thinking like children's books or something. Thanks. I was confused.

 

Edit: I don't know why I missed that. It's clear in your post. I just brushed over it for some reason. Sorry.

[caspianrex]

Has anyone seen the recently published (Dec. 2018) Maxwell Institute Study Edition of the BoM, edited by Grant Hardy?

It looks like it's pretty similar to his Reader's Edition discussed above, but the text is the 2013 version published by the Church.

I'm interested in getting this publication, and would appreciated any insights from those who may have a copy!