The Mormon scriptures were a fascinating body of texts to experience. I think they merit a deeper sociological and anthropological study from a non-believer perspective. Sure, there’s been some studies, but they often lean toward disproving the religious claims. I don’t care about that as much (though the lack of evidence for LDS claims is very important to lift up), but I do care about what this religious tradition says about being American. It is clearly a religion from and for Americans or those who aspire to American ideals. What do we do with that? I don’t have the answers, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Latter-day Saints go out of their way to market themselves as being happy Christians who aren’t as different as you might think. But once you peel back the Articles of Faith and the basic story of the Book of Mormon, you discover that the LDS movement is indeed radically different. They’re polytheists. They believe marriage is eternal. They’re notoriously anti-LGBTQ. They have a complicated history with black Americans. Their scriptures reinforce racist narratives. Their temple rituals take it to a whole different level. (Totally click that link. It’s unlike anything you could’ve imagined.) They mix freemasonry with the occult with gnostic Christianity.

You wouldn’t know this just reading the Book of Mormon. But once you go further, it all unfolds. Once you get past the smiling pictures of Jesus and the friendly missionaries, you discover that the Latter-day Saint movement is an entirely different beast altogether.

I feel it’s important to understand your neighbors. Religious literacy is crucial in our world. And this is especially true when you’re looking at a religious tradition that uses immense wealth to exert power and influence. Remember Proposition 8? As a gay man, I certainly do. The Latter-day Saints aren’t afraid to use their resources to shape the world to look more…mormon. That is why we need to understand them.

All in all, I’m glad I read these texts. They’re certainly edifying and taught me a lot about American religion. They’re not easy to read, so if you can’t handle the dryness of the Book of Mormon, I’d definitely recommend reading the Books of Moses and Abraham from the Pearl of Great Price.

Three Unexpected Gifts from Reading Mormon Scriptures

1. I don’t quite know how to explain this, but when I was reading the LDS scriptures, it struck some very clear patriotic notes. I felt like I was diving into a further chapter of the American mythos and I loved it. I really did. It made me feel proud to be an American. That’s weird, right? But it led me to ponder further about American cultural imperialism. Here, in the United States, these scriptures and the LDS religion feed into some stereotypical American traits: hardworking, think we’re invincible, think we rule the world. So, I didn’t feel proud about that. And yet, it still strikes chords with the non-shadow side of being American. As to cultural imperialism, I wonder if these traits have anything to do with mormon missionary success overseas? Anyway, it’s a weird gift to lift up, but it led to some deep reflection.
2. The Book of Enos. I’m especially drawn to anything that offers a compelling spiritual narrative. Enos offers the clearest example of this in the LDS scriptures. Despite how you believe or what you believe, it’s through spiritual practice that meaning takes root. Our values get instilled. The hope is we are moved to live betters lives in service to humanity and the divine. That’s the real problem with fundamentalism — the supplanting of spiritual practice with performance. Enos reminds us to pray. Interpret that how you will.
3. The Pearl of Great Price is a wild ride and I loved every second of it. It’s weird. It’s unconventional. It has nothing to do with historic cosmologies in Judaism or Christianity. But it’s so fun! Who doesn’t want to be a god? This book will show you how! Who doesn’t want a cosmic journey through space that lands us near a star named Kolob? Maybe it’s the sci-fi nerd in me, but I’m all about this bizarre collection of scriptures.

Three Things I Could Do Without in Mormon Scriptures

1. I’m trying to imagine what the Latter-day Saints would look like if they let go of the literal interpretation of their scriptures. The archaeological record doesn’t support their claims whatsoever. DNA science? No support. And yet, even with this, the LDS movement insists their story is factually true. I think they need to let go, but who am I to suggest that, right? I just wonder how it would change everything. They’d probably look a lot more like their very progressive cousins, the Community of Christ.
2. And it came to pass, and it came to pass, and it came to pass, and it came to pass, and it came to pass. Oh. My. God. At first it was endearing, but thinking about re-reading the Book of Mormon makes me cringe. The repetition is rough. The Community of Christ (linked above) updated their Book of Mormon so it reads a little easier. The larger Latter-day Saint movement could easily do this. Yet, again, they have this idea of scriptural purity that is very hard for them to let go of.
3. I leave you with the image below to illustrate this final thing. Despite the Latter-day Saints resting on their laurels over how they have more members outside of the United States than within, it is still an incredibly white religion. That image below is their modern day prophets. Notice anything? Couple that with the very clear racism in the Book of Mormon and the LDS past with barring black men from the priesthood — this is something I could definitely do without. It would be interesting to see the LDS movement grapple with this. What would it look like if they admitted the racial attitudes in the Book of Mormon reflected 19th century American viewpoints and not ancient American viewpoints?

What’s Next?

I’m ready for a change of pace here. My voyages through the Holy Bible, the Qur’an, and the Latter-day Saint scriptures had a couple clear things in common. They are rooted in the stories of Abraham and present their wisdom in a chapter/verse format. There’s more than that, of course, but it’s time to take a sharp turn left and try something different. What scripture can I look at that either rejects or has nothing to say about the Abrahamic story? What would a different format of scripture even look like? Well…

I already have a new book of scripture picked out from my list. It’ll be an…interesting…companion for the coming Christmas season. I’m excited and look forward to learning more from this practice.

This post is part of a larger series where I read the entirety of Latter-day Saint scripture in 15 days. Take a look at the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.