Book of Mormon as 'literature'
Forum to shift focus on possibility of it being fine reading
But a scholarly panel discussion scheduled Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Salt Lake City Library auditorium will examine the book from a variety of secular perspectives including as a piece of "folk literature."
"Rediscovering the American Bible: An Invitation to Share the Book of Mormon from New Perspectives" seeks to open a "dialogue of honest inquiry and good will," according to Mark Thomas, one of the event's organizers and a faculty member at Brigham Young University.
Panelists joining Thomas include Phyllis Tickle, noted Episcopal author and Publisher's Weekly religion editor; Robert Price, a New Testament scholar and member of the "Jesus Seminar"; Robert Rees, former editor of "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought"; and Richard Bushman, LDS historian and author of the recently released book, "Joseph Smith: Rough Rolling Stone."
Thomas said the event grew out of discussions among several of the scholars who have come together each summer the past four years as the Book of Mormon Round Table, which is seeking to compile and edit several scholarly papers to be published in book form, explaining the book to an educated audience.
Thomas said the forum is open to anyone "who wants to have a discussion in good faith," but won't be an arena for bashing the book or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To date, the book "has been used almost exclusively as a rite of passage into Mormonism. Essentially, the book has been buried by consensus and is still a buried text" when it comes to an wide public understanding of it, he said.
The panel — which is sponsored by the Center for Documentary Arts/The Leonardo — doesn't seek to defend the antiquity of the book, but to examine whether it is worth reading "and why or why not? The fact that you label it 'ancient' doesn't necessarily mean that it's worth reading," he said.
"It seems to me the fundamental issue about the Book of Mormon is that it has the possibility of being a life-changing book. Why do we have to decide exactly where it came from before you can read it? Some people think 'You've got to believe it's ancient or we're not talking to you.' I disagree with that."
Thomas believes in the past few years, "non-Mormons have become better interpreters of the text than Mormons. Sometimes we're too literal and earnest about it."
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