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A Unique American Hope: Reading Latter-day Saint Scriptures

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is fascinating. For the record, they prefer not to use the word “Mormon” to describe them anymore, so I’m trying to be respectful. I’ll use LDS from here on out. The LDS faith, in my estimation, is a uniquely American religious expressions. Granted, there are more LDS members outside of the United States these days, I find the story and expression of their faith to make perfect sense in the context of American history.

Growing up, I had several LDS friends. I had friends who converted to LDS. I had friends who left. I serve a congregation where ex-LDS wade cautiously back into religious community. We’ve all had them knock on our doors or seen them bicycling throughout our towns and cities. We know about the Broadway show! Beyond these initial connections, I find myself wondering why they are so passionate about their faith. What is it that anchors them? Guides them? Inspires them?

I’ve had LDS friends tell me upon reading the entirety of the Book of Mormon for the first time that they were utterly transformed. So, I guess the Book of Mormon is a good place to start. What about their other scriptures? The ones that give shape to some unique beliefs such as a tiered system of the afterlife, godhood, planets, something-to-do-with-Egyptian-mummies, and much more?

Ultimately, this is what is motivating me: My deep love of religion and a desire to know the sacred stories of a people our culture loves to mock. I’m not excusing the beliefs LDS people hold that I find to be deplorable, such as the treatment of LGBTQ persons. This is an inquiry, instead, into the nature and motivation of this unique religion. It all begins with the sacred texts.

The Plan

This is the third installment of my sacred text exploration. I’m excited to get started after taking a break after readin the Bible and Qur’an back-to-back. I’m approaching this plan with flexibility in mind. The language in the traditional Book of Mormon is a bit archaic at times, but I’ll endeavor to get through it. I’m pretty confident this can be a 15 day adventure.

The LDS scriptures present a familiar format. Everything is in two columns like a Bible and there are references I will understand having read the Bible. So, outside of the language, it should be a smooth reading experience. I anticipate I will run into several unique expressions of LDS beliefs, though I anticipate those coming later in the Doctrines & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

Speaking of which, Latter-day Saints have three books of scripture: Book of Mormon, Doctrines & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. The one I am most excited about is the Pearl of Great Price since that gets into the unique cosmology of LDS belief. Doctrines & Covenants are further revelations for conduct and polity, and the Book of Mormon probably doesn’t need too much explanation these days.

I chose the 2013 Edition Triple Combination from Deseret Books. It’s compact, well-made, and easy to read. I could’ve gone with what Herald House Publishing offers with updated language, but they do not represent the standard LDS expression we immediately think about. Herald House is the publishing arm of the Community of Christ — formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are incredibly more progressive than most, if not all, other LDS denominations.

As always, this isn’t a commentary on whether I think this scripture is true or not. It’s about the experience of reading the text as it is given to me. What would someone experience if they just came upon this book of scripture with no background knowledge? I can’t remove all of my own contexts, but I can try to read it without disproving LDS beliefs. If you want that, there are plenty of YouTube channels that go into the veracity of, well, any religious tradition. That’s not the point. The point is to take a look at and perhaps experience the holy and sacred in words as millions of people do every day in the LDS tradition.

Here’s a 15 day plan to read the Latter-day Saint Scriptures. Days 1 through 11 are the Book of Mormon. The remaining days are Doctrines & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price: