Philip L. Barlow offers an in-depth analysis of the approaches taken to the Bible by major Mormon leaders, from its beginnings to the present. He shows that Mormon attitudes toward the Bible comprise an extraordinary mix of conservative, liberal, and radical ingredients: an almost fundamentalist adherence to the King James Version co-exists with belief in the possibility of new revelation and surprising ideas about the limits of human language. Barlow's exploration
takes important steps toward unraveling the mystery of this quintessential American religious phenomenon. This updated edition of Mormons and the Bible includes an extended bibliography and a new
preface, casting Joseph Smith's mission into a new frame and treating evolutions in Mormonism's biblical usage in recent decades.
Philip L. Barlow offers an in-depth analysis of the approaches taken to the Bible by major Mormon leaders, from its beginnings to the present. He shows that Mormon attitudes toward the Bible comprise an extraordinary mix of conservative, liberal, and radical ingredients: an almost fundamentalist adherence to the King James Version co-exists with belief in the possibility of new revelation and surprising ideas about the limits of human language. Barlow's exploration
takes important steps toward unraveling the mystery of this quintessential American religious phenomenon. This updated edition of Mormons and the Bible includes an extended bibliography and a new
preface, casting Joseph Smith's mission into a new frame and treating evolutions in Mormonism's biblical usage in recent decades.
Preface (1991)
Preface (2013): Reinterpreting Joseph Smith and Pondering the
Twenty-first Century
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
A Note on Mormon Organization and Nomenclature
Introduction: The Bible in Antebellum America
1. Before Mormonism: Joseph Smith and the Bible, 1820-1830
2. From the Birth of the Church to the Death of the Prophet
3. Diversity and Development: The Bible Moves West
4. The Mormon Response to Higher Criticism
5. Why the King James Version?
6. The Late Twentieth Century [will need to be corrected in chapter
headings]
Summary: The Ambiguities of a New Religious Tradition
Select Bibliography
Select Bibliography since 1991
Index
Philip L. Barlow is Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture
at Utah State University. His books include The Oxford Handbook to
Mormonism (co-edited with Terryl Givens, forthcoming, 2013), The
New Historical Atlas of Religion in America (OUP 2000, co-authored
with Edwin Scott Gaustad) and, as co-editor with Mark Silk,
Religion and Public Life in the Midwest: America's Common
Denominator? (2004). He is past president
of the Mormon History Association.
"Twenty-two years after it first appeared, Mormons and the Bible is
as much a classic of American religious history broadly as of
Mormonism narrowly." --The Juvenile Instructor
From the previous edition:
"A model of what other cultural studies of scripture might
be....Goes well beyond existing literature in both its breadth of
research into actual Mormon practice and its subtlety of
interpretation about the place of Mormon scripturism in American
cultural life....The book, in sum, is a treasure."--Modern
Theology
"Gives non-Mormons a scholarly and incisively written look at the
tradition Joseph Smith set in motion. Further, it creates for
Latter-day Saint readers an opportunity for enlightened and
enlightening self-analysis."--Journal of Mormon History
"It would be difficult to think of a better book for non-Mormons to
read on Mormonism than Barlow's. He places Mormonism in a
comparative context as few others have."--Religious Studies
Review
"One of the most interesting books I have read on Mormonism in
recent years....This is a persuasive and well-written book that
offers a fresh approach to understanding the saints within a larger
context of American religion."--American Historical Review
"An important seminal work, among the five or six most significant
works examining Mormonism's rich and varied past to appear over the
course of the past 20 years. As such, it is highly recommended as
essential reading for all students of Mormon studies and the
American West generally."--Journal of the West
"As both a former employee of the LDS church's religious
educational system and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School,
Barlow brings a sure-footed competence to his discussion of
Mormonism, Biblical studies, and religion in America
generally."--Pacific Historical Review
"There can be no question that as a work of Mormon intellectual
history this is a seminal--and eminently readable--work....Mormons
and the Bible has all the markings of a Mormon classic."--Dialogue:
A Journal of Mormon Thought
"Mormons and the Bible is one of the most stimulating books to come
on the Mormon market for years--stimulating because it presents a
fresh, delightful new path through the rut-worn field of Mormon
history and doctrine. Disarmingly simple in its major thesis, yet
profound in its insights and scholarly to the core, it is
effortlessly readable."--Sunstone
"The book remains a classic, invaluable to Mormon studies
specifically and American religious history broadly." --Religious
Studies Review
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |