With over 100 million copies in print, the Book of Mormon has spawned a vast religious movement, but it remains little discussed outside Mormon circles. Now Terry L. Givens offers a full-length treatment of this influential work, illuminating the varied meanings and tempestuous impact of this uniquely American scripture. Givens examines the text's role as a divine testament of the Last Days and as a sacred sign of Joseph Smith's status as a modern-day
prophet. He assesses its claim to be a history of the pre-Columbian peopling of the Western Hemisphere, and later explores how the Book has been defined as a cultural product--the imaginative ravings
of a rustic religion-maker. Givens further investigates its status as a new American Bible or Fifth Gospel, one that displaces, supports, or, in some views, perverts the canonical Word of God. Finally, Givens highlights the Book's role as the engine behind what may become the next world religion. The most wide-ranging study on the subject outside Mormon presses, By the Hand of Mormon will fascinate anyone curious about a religious people who, despite their numbers,
remain strangers in our midst.
With over 100 million copies in print, the Book of Mormon has spawned a vast religious movement, but it remains little discussed outside Mormon circles. Now Terry L. Givens offers a full-length treatment of this influential work, illuminating the varied meanings and tempestuous impact of this uniquely American scripture. Givens examines the text's role as a divine testament of the Last Days and as a sacred sign of Joseph Smith's status as a modern-day
prophet. He assesses its claim to be a history of the pre-Columbian peopling of the Western Hemisphere, and later explores how the Book has been defined as a cultural product--the imaginative ravings
of a rustic religion-maker. Givens further investigates its status as a new American Bible or Fifth Gospel, one that displaces, supports, or, in some views, perverts the canonical Word of God. Finally, Givens highlights the Book's role as the engine behind what may become the next world religion. The most wide-ranging study on the subject outside Mormon presses, By the Hand of Mormon will fascinate anyone curious about a religious people who, despite their numbers,
remain strangers in our midst.
Terryl L. Givens did graduate work at Cornell University in
intellectual history and at UNC Chapel Hill, where he received his
PhD in comparative literature. He holds the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair
of English and is Professor of Literature and Religion at the
University of Richmond, where he teaches courses in
nineteenth-century studies and the Bible's influence on Western
literature. His writing has been praised by the New York Times
as
"provocative reading," and his numerous books include When Souls
Had Wings, a history of the idea of premortal life in Western
thought, as well as The God Who Weeps (with Fiona Givens) and
Wrestling the Angel.
"This outstanding book investigates the history and theology of the
Book of Mormon, which Givens calls 'perhaps the most religiously
influential, hotly contested, and, at least in the secular press,
intellectually underinvestigated book in America.' Givens
persuasively demonstrates how the Book of Mormon was trumpeted by
early Latter-Day Saints more for the fact of its existence--which
to them indicated an imminent apocalypse--than for its content per
se. He
notes that it was only during the late 20th century that Mormons
began to regard the Book of Mormon as a cultural and spiritual
'keystone.' Givens's well-argued, engagingly written book takes
the
emerging field of Book of Mormon Studies to a new
level."--Publishers Weekly
"Givens is fair-minded, sympathetic, and knows his Mormon history,
as well as the history of visionaries.... Givens's surest ground is
in folding Joseph Smith in with the religious mystics who claimed
immediate and intimate knowledge of the supernatural. The
importance of his book lies in its scholarly, unbiased, and
disinterested examination of a sacred text."--Harpers
"A closely written, thoughtful (if polemical) book by a devoted
scholar. It is certainly provocative reading, whether you happen to
be a Mormon or not."--Benson Bobrick, New York Times Book
Review
"By the Hand of Mormon, Terryl L. Givens's study of the Book of
Mormon, is vastly informative, particularly to the general reader
who seeks for insight into this extraordinary work. There are
enigmatic splendors in the Book of Mormon, whether it was revealed
to Joseph Smith or whether it emerged from his indubitable
religious genius." --Harold Bloom, author of The American Religion:
The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation
"This is an exceptional study. Terryl Givens has written an
important work that increases our understanding of both the Book of
Mormon and of Mormonism generally. He demonstrates how a single
literary work gave rise to an enduring community, a theology, a
religion, and a culture, and helps to explain not only the book's
history but also the persisting success of Mormonism as an enduring
belief system and worshipping community. By the Hand of Mormon is
an
achievement of real distinction." --Jan Shipps, author of Sojourner
in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons and Mormonism:
The Story of a New Religious Tradition
"This outstanding book investigates the history and theology of the
Book of Mormon, which Givens calls 'perhaps the most religiously
influential, hotly contested, and, at least in the secular press,
intellectually underinvestigated book in America.' Givens
persuasively demonstrates how the Book of Mormon was trumpeted by
early Latter-Day Saints more for the fact of its existence--which
to them indicated an imminent apocalypse--than for its content per
se. He
notes that it was only during the late 20th century that Mormons
began to regard the Book of Mormon as a cultural and spiritual
'keystone.' Givens's well-argued, engagingly written book takes
the
emerging field of Book of Mormon Studies to a new
level."--Publishers Weekly
"Givens is fair-minded, sympathetic, and knows his Mormon history,
as well as the history of visionaries.... Givens's surest ground is
in folding Joseph Smith in with the religious mystics who claimed
immediate and intimate knowledge of the supernatural. The
importance of his book lies in its scholarly, unbiased, and
disinterested examination of a sacred text."--Harpers
"A closely written, thoughtful (if polemical) book by a devoted
scholar. It is certainly provocative reading, whether you happen to
be a Mormon or not."--Benson Bobrick, New York Times Book
Review
"By the Hand of Mormon, Terryl L. Givens's study of the Book of
Mormon, is vastly informative, particularly to the general reader
who seeks for insight into this extraordinary work. There are
enigmatic splendors in the Book of Mormon, whether it was revealed
to Joseph Smith or whether it emerged from his indubitable
religious genius." --Harold Bloom, author of The American Religion:
The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation
"This is an exceptional study. Terryl Givens has written an
important work that increases our understanding of both the Book of
Mormon and of Mormonism generally. He demonstrates how a single
literary work gave rise to an enduring community, a theology, a
religion, and a culture, and helps to explain not only the book's
history but also the persisting success of Mormonism as an enduring
belief system and worshipping community. By the Hand of Mormon is
an
achievement of real distinction." --Jan Shipps, author of Sojourner
in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons and Mormonism:
The Story of a New Religious Tradition
"The publication of By the Hand of Mormon represents a breakthrough
in the history of Mormon scholarship. This is a multifaceted book
that sheds light on numerous aspects of Latter-day Saint belief and
practice as well as upon the Book of Mormon itself. Latter-day
Saints should purchase [this book] for themselves and for others
because it is a profound book from which they and others will learn
much."--Daniel C. Patterson, Professor of Islamis Studies,
Bringham Young University
"A unique study of the Book of Mormon." --Edward S. Cutler,
Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Bringham
Young University
"Until now, the Book of Mormon has not been on anyone's list of
canonical literary works, but it may be added soon as Mormonism
assumes the dimensions of a budding world religion. Thus far no one
has been able to situate this much-contested work in our
intellectual history. Givens does, and offers a striking appraisal
of just what the Book of Mormon means to our culture." --Richard
Lyman Bushman, Gouverneur Morris Professor of History Emeritus,
Columbia
University, and co-author of Mormons in America
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