Buch, Englisch, 368 Seiten, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 593 g
Buch, Englisch, 368 Seiten, Format (B × H): 162 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 593 g
ISBN: 978-0-19-973170-1
Verlag: Oxford University Press
In Understanding the Book of Mormon, Hardy focuses on the work's narrative structure. Unlike virtually all other recent world scriptures, it is presented as an integrated narrative rather than a series of doctrinal expositions, moral injunctions, or devotional hymns. Hardy takes readers through the characters, events, and ideas, as he explores the story and its messages. He identifies the book's literary techniques, such as characterization, embedded documents, allusions, and parallel
narratives. Whether Joseph Smith is regarded as author or translator, it's noteworthy that he never speaks in his own voice; rather, he mediates nearly everything through the narrators Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni. Hardy shows how each has a distinctive voice, and all are woven into an integral whole.
As with any scripture, the contending views of the Book of Mormon can seem irreconcilable. For believers, it is an actual historical document, transmitted from ancient America. For nonbelievers, it is the work of a nineteenth-century farmer from upstate New York. Hardy transcends this intractable conflict by offering a literary approach, one appropriate to both history and fiction. Regardless of whether readers are interested in American history, literature, comparative religion, or even
salvation, he writes, the book can best be read if we examine the text on its own terms.