Comments on: Romantics and their Fragments

By: Jonathan Green

Jonathan Green — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:03:03 +0000

Thanks for all the insightful comments.
Kyle R, the parallel between a perilous textual and spiritual history is something that hadn’t occurred to me before, but once you mention it, it makes a lot of sense. One of the subplots of Genesis is how the descent and birthright of the covenant people is constantly threatened. The Book of Mormon parallel would then be, as you point out, that preservation of the text is constantly threatened. Interesting.

Dr. B., I’ll return to some of the ideas you mention in an upcoming post that finishes off the outline of a paper I won’t be presenting.

JimD, your wish has been granted.

By: JimD

JimD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:14:58 +0000

Not to threadjack, but will there be a post forthcoming about the Church’s change in the introduction of the Book of Mormon? Apparently the Lamanites are no longer the “principal” ancestors of the American Indians, but “among” the ancestors of the American Indians. See today’s Salt Lake Tribune.

By: Dr. B.

Dr. B. — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:34:27 +0000

Your interpretation of the BOM is very interesting. It is almost hermeneutical in that the reader must deconstruct or make meaning of the text. I think that is the beauty of scripture that the individual finds their own meaning. I feel Habermas would be proud of your post. I think since you are dealing with a collection of writers that you have to make meaning fragmentary since the Book of Mormon is actually snapshots of different people over different time periods not a running narrative. The Holy Bible would also fit your explanation for the same reason as would most other books of scriptures.

By: Kyle R.

Kyle R. — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:19:41 +0000

It describes its own textual history

The self-referentiality of the Book of Mormon struck me on first reading – the way it includes in its historical / spiritual narrative a meta-narrative about itself as a record. There is a quite striking and perhaps instructive parallel between the spiritual struggle of ancient peoples in the historical record and the struggle to preserve the record itself in the meta-narrative. From Nephi’s dangerous – and possibly near-fatal – mission to obtain precious records from Laban all the way to the careful guardianship of the Book of Mormon plates by Mormon and Moroni in very dangerous and lonely times, there is a pervasive sense that the written record, the written testimony and witness itself, is extremely precious, fragile and vulnerable to many dangers and threats: it can so easily be lost, stolen or destroyed. The scribes of the Book of the Mormon seem always very conscious of this.

The parallel, for me, is that the spiritual progress of Book of Mormon peoples is also shown to be very precious, fragile and vulnerable to many dangers and threats. The hearts of people opened to the light of Christ show themselves in the Book of Mormon to also be so vulnerable to loss or destruction, so vulnerable to darkness driving that light back out again.

This overwhelming sense of vulnerability and fragility – whether the concern of scribes for the safety of the record, or of prophets and leaders for the safety of souls – is for me one of the most emotive things about the Book of Mormon. The fact that the records have been kept no more guarantees their survival without vigilance than does spiritual progress reach a safety zone without an always alert diligence.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:06:44 +0000

And now we know why there are so many Mormon Germanists :)

Nicely done, Jonathan.

By: mlu

mlu — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:03:54 +0000

Nice.

It’s part of the pattern.

We glimpse eternity in fragments and through a glass darkly. Those who desire a better, more complete, view–and prove it through diligence, paying attention, stepping past distractions, returning again and again to the questions do get more, here a little and there a little.

By: mlu

mlu — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:03:54 +0000

Nice.

It’s part of the pattern.

By: john f.

john f. — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:40:06 +0000

Great post Jonathan. I really enjoyed this one. I too have sensed the value added to our experience in reading and learning doctrines from the Book of Mormon by this fragmentary aspect of its nature. Thanks for promoting more consideration of this characteristic.