...the book, not the musical.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've long been fascinated by Mormon history and culture, particularly the Book of Mormon itself. In fact, in addition to my Bible collection, I have an interesting little collection of Mormon literature: several different copies of the Book of Mormon, some historical/doctrinal publications by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and even a few publications by other non-LDS Mormon sects. I've always found Mormons themselves to be friendly, genuinely nice people, and I've had a few nice little chats with Mormon missionaries.

All that being said, I still just don't get it. I've studied the Book of Mormon quite a bit over the years (and I've been on a bit of a BoM kick lately). I know this is a book that millions of faithful Mormons view as scripture, on the same level with the Holy Bible. But every time I've attempted to read various parts of the book, I'm immediately struck by how completely inauthentic it is. It tries so hard to read like the Bible; there are all kinds of "and it came to pass" and other King James-like phrases and words. The narrative is obviously inspired by biblical style. However, it overplays its hand all over the place. I mean, here we have a book that was purportedly written over hundreds of years, from several centuries before Christ to a few centuries after Christ. In much of the narrative that takes place before Christ, though, there are all kinds of references to Jesus Christ, the Messiah to come. And I'm not talking about the kinds of references Christians have found in the Hebrew Scriptures, like the Immanuel passage in Isaiah 7:14. I'm talking direct references to Jesus by name! Like this passage from the Book of Jacob:

This was supposedly written about five centuries before Christ, and there are many, many more references just like it. The prophets in the Book of Mormon are always talking about Jesus, the Son of God, and encouraging their listeners (or readers) to believe in Him...long before He was born!

And should the reader begin getting too skeptical, and object to this biblical sequel, the Book of Mormon provides a preemptive argument in 2 Nephi 29 (this always makes me smile);

So there you have it! Don't try to complain about another Bible, because the Prophet Nephi knew that you would, hundreds of years before you even knew about the Book of Mormon!

I won't even get into the fact that, despite some Mormon apologists' beliefs to the contrary, there doesn't seem to be even a single scrap of reputable archaeological evidence for any of the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon is completely fictional...sort of Bible "fanfiction."  And yet, millions of devout Mormons read it wholeheartedly as Scripture. It's a fascinating phenomenon, but so confusing to me.

Meanwhile, why am I so interested in this book that I don't see in the same light as those who believe in it? Well, Mormon history is incredibly intriguing: Mormonism is easily the most successful American-grown religion. Mormons as a community have made innumerable contributions to American history. And Mormons whom I have known personally are absolutely delightful people. So I continue to be interested in what is, to me, one of the most interesting sects that has ever existed. Although I have absolutely zero interest in joining such a community, I do hope to understand it more fully.

Thanks for reading.

For the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out where the following quote comes from, but it's a fun, concise description of the relationship among Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Mormonism...

A continuing fascination of mine is Mormon history, doctrine, and culture. I have long believed that, although there are certainly differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity, there are also areas of commonality. Although I strongly disagree with some aspects of Mormon theology, I consider them brothers and sisters in the Christian faith.  So I found this article quite interesting:

Sorry I haven't written any blog posts recently, but as you can guess from my title above, I've been struggling with a summer cold. Two and a half weeks of head congestion and wretched coughing. Lots of mostly sleepless nights, and waking up with my nostrils completely blocked. But nature seems to finally be running her course, and I'm beginning to feel much better. So I'm back.

Truth be told, there are no other "horrifying tales" to report. Su has begun 4th grade, her final year at Sylvan Park Paideia Design Center. Lucy just started her second year of the wonderful Parents' Day Out program at Granny White Church of Christ. And me? I recently began my second year as Director of Music Ministries at Grace United Methodist Church in Mt. Juliet, TN. So things are back to the school year routine, and running fairly smoothly.

I keep trying to avoid news of the upcoming 2016 Presidential Election, but I seldom succeed. I somehow end up checking the news on Google, and seeing more articles that anger or disgust me. "Nuff said there...

I'm hoping to restart some of my self-study in Biblical Greek and Hebrew. I'm quite confident that I gain some decent proficiency in the former, and hopefully at least a little basic knowledge in the latter. Lord knows, I have plenty of resources at home and online, so I may as well try to get it going. It's just difficult to make it work without having a teacher to keep my going! I think I could do it, though, if I came up with a weekly routine of some sort.

So that's my life right now. Keeping it brief today. Hoping this nasty, hot summer weather goes away someday in the not-too-distant future...

Su starts her last year at Sylvan Park Elementary the day after tomorrow. I can't believe summer is drawing to an end (that is, as far as scheduling goes...the weather is still firmly stuck in the end of summer). It may sound like a cliche, but it really doesn't seem so long ago that Su started kindergarten, and now she's going into the fourth grade! Pardon me a second, while I sit here and feel old.

<slight pause>

There, I'm done.  Just for fun, I thought I'd share some "first day of school pictures from the past few years...the evolution of Su at school.