Review
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Title: A Scriptural Discussion of Light
Author: Allen J. Fletcher
Publisher: Cedar Fort Genre: good question
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 263 plus introduction
Binding: Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-59955-0211-09
Price: $14.99

Reviewed by Andrea Stacy

As an artist, a dilettante reader of particle physics for the layman, a survivor of skin cancer, and as a child of God, I’ve been interested in light for years. I remember with joy the first time I found scriptural enlightenment regarding light, a time that opened my mind to new ways of thinking about light—light and the scriptures, the Light of Christ and the light spectrum of our physical world, light and spirit and truth and everything else. Like the photon, the particle carrier of light having properties of both energy and matter. Through study (and a few good talks, back when Education Week had content), much pondering, and revelation I’ve learned a few things, marveled at many, and desired to know more. Which is why I looked forward to reading A Scriptural Discussion of Light—and why I found it difficult to review.

The author states in his Introduction that his pursuit of the subject began years ago, born of curiosity about the wording of D&C 84:45: (For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.) “Gradually, the Spirit of the Lord distilled into my mind and into my heart the things that I will share with you here. . . Now that I know what I know, I can’t seem to remember a time when I did not know. These things are part of the fiber and fabric of my existence. This work is my testimony.” (p. ix)

This is a state of existence familiar to many, and is one of the strengths—and weaknesses—of this book. A testimony brought about through study and personal revelation can leave one in the state of knowing something to be true, but unable to delineate a path that will lead someone else to the same knowledge. You can’t draw a map that includes the leaps of faith/knowledge whispered (or shouted) to you by the Holy Spirit. Brother Fletcher tries. I admire his efforts, and deeply appreciate his thoughts and the wonderful catalog of scriptures. However, I find myself frequently thinking, “I agree with his conclusion but don’t feel the scriptures quoted prove it.” I like both testimony and logic, but realize we are not (yet) always capable of expressing both.

I marked the book extensively, underlining, jotting notes, making minute dog-ears on pages, but when all is said and done, it comes down to this: I think there is a great deal of wisdom and truth in this book, even though I don’t agree with all the author’s conclusions, and wish that such could be widely read and pondered. But—I truly, truly wish the author had adopted another style of dispensing.

He confesses to struggling as to how to convey his thoughts, and made the unfortunate (from my perspective) choice to do it through a fictional setting of 2 couples getting together periodically to discuss light as found in the scriptures. “My great hope is that my weakness in writing does not get in the way of the beauty and purity of the concepts.” (p. xi) For me, it did.

Firstly, the story-telling is artificial, the dialogue stilted, and the writing more at a level for teens than adults. There really are no ‘discussions’ but only instances of one character, in effect, presenting a lesson and the others gratefully accepting without question. Because the author must cover certain basics, his characters are forced to utter fatuously, “I never knew that” to gospel points they should have known for years and years.

Secondly, while the author chose the fictional characters rather than “coldly writing about doctrines and concepts”, I feel a great dissonance between the shallow artificiality of the characters and the depth and reality of the topic—“. . . the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. . . . And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings”. (D&C 88: 7, 10-11) If it hadn’t been for the strength of my interest in the topic, I’d have abandoned the book in chapter one, and several times thereafter. I fear—and I possibly am doing an injustice to everyone—that those who will respond favorably to that level of writing will not be interested in the level of thought and understanding needed to match the author’s, nor would those seeking that depth of knowledge and testimony enjoy the writing enough to stick with it.

I hope I’m wrong. I would love to sit on a couch with Brother Fletcher and have (several) long discussion on light and scriptures. I’d like to know why he went in some directions and not in others, if he had considered some of my reasonings, if our understandings could be further deepened. I’d like to have the discussions the characters should have had.

My third wish-that-the-book-were-different is a wish, even though this book is the author’s testimony of what he believes to be true, that he had presented it with fewer declaratory sentences. As stated, I agree with and believe in much that he wrote, but I would rather his characters (well, you know) had couched their points in “Consider this” or “Have you thought of this” or “It seems to me that” or “I understand this to mean” or, or, or, rather than flatly stating “This means” and “This is”.

One possible problem I found that isn’t a matter of style, however, is the author’s potential over-reaching to prove his points. Words are important in this book. The author asks the reader to seriously consider—and it’s fascinating—certain words in scripture: what they mean, whether or not they can be considered equivalent, and interchangeable. Sometimes, he asks us to go a little further than is perhaps warranted. Are the words “word”, “truth”, “light”, and “Spirit” mentioned in D&C 84:45 equivalent, identical, interchangeable, part of a larger whole, or any or all of the above, depending? I find the author’s answer exceeds the proof offered, but perhaps he is simply honing in on one aspect for his immediate purposes. One of many questions I’d like to ask him.

Another is whether what he believes springs from this understanding of key words works only in English. English is a wonderful, and wonderfully funny, language, jerry-rigged from many other languages. A common scriptural language problem that comes to mind is the word “love.” The Greeks had about seven different words for love, depending upon which aspect of love was under discussion. The Greek language of the New Testament used many of those differently meaning words, but in English, they all read as “love”. Reading the New Testament in Greek, one readily knows if it is love of God, love of mankind, familial love or something else, but reading it in English, one must guess from the sometimes extremely skimpy context, and perhaps miss vital nuances.

So I wonder, as the author moves from the Doctrine and Covenants, given to us in English, to the Bible, if the words are, indeed, as exactly alike as they sound. Or, for the Saints reading the scriptures in German or Spanish or Tongan—will they be able to perceive the same meanings and relationships the author finds in the English version of the scriptures?

I don’t know.

I do know that testimonies are precious things and Brother Fletcher graciously and bravely shares his with us. I do know that, mixed in with the treacly fiction is a wealth of scriptures and ideas well worth considering and studying on your own.

If you’re still reading this, you might have noticed I’ve discussed the book without discussing specific content. The choice is deliberate. Brother Fletcher’s testimony is his to share; and the thoughts are deep enough, complex enough, that to toss out a few as tantalizing tidbits would be an injustice.

Early in the book, he quotes Elder Packer:

“Individual doctrines of the gospel are not fully explained in one place in the scriptures, nor presented in order or sequence. They must be assembled from pieces here and there. They are sometimes found in large segments, but mostly they are in small bits scattered through the chapters and verses. . . .

“I have come to be very, very grateful that scriptures are arranged as they are. Because the scriptures are arranged the way they are, there are endless combinations of truths that will fit the need of every individual in every circumstance.” (pp. x, xi)

Brother Fletcher has spent much of his life pulling together many bits and pieces of scripture revealing a grand concept of light, its many facets, its unity. He offers them to us in the hope we, too, will find truths that fit our circumstances. Despite my wishing the book had been written differently, I did. I hope others will do the same.