The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Prof. Royal Skousen, who is also an internationally respected linguistic theorist, has devoted two decades to intensive, meticulous study of the textual history of the Book of Mormon, and this Yale edition is a very important product -- though not the only product -- of that dedicated engagement. Previous reviewers have already adequately described the volume, so, besides simply endorsing it, I would like to say what I especially value about it:

This book represents the bottom-line results of one of the greatest individual scholarly undertakings in the history of Mormonism. The multiple volumes already published by Professor Skousen with FARMS (aka the Maxwell Institute) are wonderful, and, for serious scholars of the Book of Mormon, indispensable. But they're also very large and . . . well, multiple. In other words, unwieldy for speedy reference, when one simply needs to see the text quickly in order to know the likely original reading. I have long wanted a single, convenient volume that would make the superior Skousen text readily accessible, and now it's here. Moreover, with its sense lines and superb physical characteristics (e.g., staying easily open on a table or a desk), this is a wonderful version for simply reading the book through. It's a great study edition.

I recommend this printing of the Book of Mormon enthusiastically and without reservation. It changes no doctrines, but it will change the way even experienced readers of the Book of Mormon perceive and understand its sense and style. In fact, although Professor Skousen has been a consummate scholar, following the evidence where it leads, and has certainly not tried to skew things in a faithful direction, I'm quite confident (speaking as a believer) that many of those who study it carefully will find this edition faith-promoting -- as well they should. For one thing, it illustrates the remarkable consistency of the text as Joseph Smith dictated it, and it even contains the Hebraisms that have been edited out over the years because, though they're very good Hebrew style, they're odd English.

First, the physical production of the volume is outstanding (as one would expect from Yale University Press). High quality paper and binding, outstanding layout and typography. The book is large and heavy (see above) but manages to stay open even near the front and back. The heft of the book makes it a bit hard (though not impossible) to read while stretched out on the couch.

Grant Hardy's introduction lays out the case for accepting the Book of Mormon as a serious work worthy of study in the context of world religions -- all the more so because we have so much definite historical and even forensic information regarding its creation and transmission (cf. Terryl Givens' By the Hand of Mormon).

Skousen's editorial preface in turn provides a brief overview of his methodology in producing the critical text, laying out his overall approach as well as some of his criteria in making critical text decisions. However, he rightly points readers to his multi-volume series on the Book of Mormon Critical Text project for detailed explanations as to item-by-item decisions regarding recovery or conjecture of the critical text.

Skousen also explains his presentation of the critical text: sense lines, (mostly) modern spelling, de novo punctuation, blank lines to indicate paragraph breaks, and a typographic insertion to mark Joseph Smith's original chapter indications. Modern (LDS 1981 edition) chapter and verse indications are given in the left margin.

Note that the punctuation, sense line breaks, and paragraph breaks are Skousen's; the original manuscript had none, and the printer's manuscript didn't have much more. While most paragraphs comprise some number of modern verses, Skousen is willing to break across modern verse or even chapter divisions, though he only does so occasionally. I suspect that what criticism Skousen receives on this volume will come here, since he is in effect inserting himself to the text.

On the other hand, I frankly think he's done a better job than Orson Pratt did back in 1879 in setting up the modern chapters and verses, and as I got into the text itself, I found myself wishing for an edition that left out the modern chapter and verse numbers altogether (though I could simply use a bookmark to cover up the left margin). Since even the printer's manuscript was (in the words of the 1830 typesetter, John Gilbert) "one solid paragraph, without a punctuation mark, from beginning to end" (cited on p. xlii), I much prefer Skousen's approach to wading through a single mass of undifferentiated and unpunctuated text.

The resulting text is wonderful. Layout and typography make it very easy to read, and the presentation brings a fresh look to a very familiar text. I've worked my way through most of the six "Textual Variants" volumes published by Skousen, so I'm not reading this to pick up on those modifications per se (though Skousen lists in an appendix what he considers to be significant textual changes). Instead, I am imagining myself in a small room as Joseph Smith dictates and someone transcribes. It is a powerful experience, one which I'm about to go back to.

Highly recommended. ..bruce..

The typesetting by Saltzman is really a work of art, and combined with the formatting in sense lines, reads much like poetic prose; the story flows easily as never before. I just got my personal copy from the editor himself, Royal Skousen, who is my brother. With this disclosure I'll try to be as objective as I can in describing this work, having personally witnessed almost every facet of its development over the last 21 years. This single volume is the synthesis of all the detailed analysis Royal did on the historical changes and word variants that occupies in excess of ten volumes of scholarly text (also available to the public). What we have here in this reconstructed text of the Book of Mormon is both a flowing readable text of the story itself plus fascinating summaries in the Preface and Appendix of all the important textual changes that have been restored using the original and printer's handwritten manuscripts.

The ink on these manuscripts was so faint that special ultra violet and infra red photography had to be used to bring out the text and the editing marks, yielding a few hundred very interesting changes stemming mostly from copy errors when a printer's manuscript was prepared for delivery to the printer of the original 1830 edition. By openly discussing all of the copy and editorial changes over the history of the book, Royal feels he has "freed the earliest text" for everyone to view and discuss for themselves. I have observed his rigid adherence to scholarship and his principled resistant to common textual readings that may be more comfortable to our ears, but which are unsupported by the original documents. By giving us the earliest possible text he lets the story speak for itself. Enjoy.

Joel Skousen