Review
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Title: Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi to Alma 29
Author: Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 630
Binding: Oversized hardback
ISBN: 978-1-59811-461-4
Price: $39.95
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
I recently reviewed the first volume of a new series that uses the Book of Mormon to teach the principles of the Gospel. In that review, I mentioned yet another first volume in a Book of Mormon-oriented series from Covenant Communications. This review will discuss this other series.
Pinegar and Allen are well known writers and speakers in the LDS community. Their expertise in the Book of Mormon and in the Restored Gospel are well documented and appreciated by many students. Do they add anything to the existing corpus of Book of Mormon knowledge in this new series?
In their preface, the authors indicate that their purpose is to help readers "liken unto themselves" the teachings of the Book of Mormon. Certainly the extensive body of work already available on the Book of Mormon has covered this topic many times. One need not look far to find authors who have treated this aspect of Book of Mormon study.
But Pinegar and Allen enrich their study with a large number of citations from other LDS writers, a very readable ongoing commentary on the story itself, and a comfortable and readable environment designed to help readers grow with their study. Physically, the book itself is large, the type style likewise large and readable. And the prose is simply read and understood.
The authors make clear that each of us has a part to play in our ongoing quest for truth and clarity. This is not new. LDS writers have, for years, seen spiritual growth as a matter of our cooperation with God. Obedience, repentance -- all play a part in our path to exaltation. The authors are insistent that these are essential parts of the Gospel.
There is no attempt to scold or to lecture here. Instead, the authors allow the Book of Mormon to speak for itself, gently urging the reader to draw from the stories lessons of life, love and faith. In their telling of the story, the characters really come alive, allowing students at all levels to access the scriptures in a warm and friendly way.
I didn't find anything startlingly new here. Everything they say here has been said before. But they do pull it all together in an attractive and easy-to-read format. Families will enjoy studying the Book of Mormon with this book as a guide.
I look forward to seeing the next volume in this series.
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.comwww.aml-online.orgwww.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html
