Review
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Title: Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon. Volume 1: First Nephi
Author: Brant A. Gardner
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2007
Number of Pages: 469
Binding: Large hardback
ISBN: 978-1-58958-041-1
Price: $39.95
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
In August of 2007 I ran into the author at Kofford Books' booth at Sunstone in Salt Lake City. Gardner and I were familiar from our internet exchanges, but this is the first time we'd met in person (to the best of my memory). Kofford had a galley of the present volume on his table. When I shouted my dismay that I didn't have a copy of the galley, Gardner pointed out that even *he* didn't have a copy of the galley. It took all my patience to explain to him that this was irrelevant -- I *always* have galleys of important books. We had a good laugh over that!
If there is any merit to the publication of yet another Book of Mormon commentary, it ought to bring forth information that will be new to readers. It should add perspective to the scriptures. It should cause the reader to go back to the text and re-examine it in a new light. In every way, Gardner's effort does all of this, and more.
Gardner begins his treatise with the following shrewd observations, clever on the one hand, and cautionary on the other. He wants readers to understand his motive and his method:
"I accept the Book of Mormon as a translation as an ancient text...I inquire into the process of Joseph Smith's translation or how the text fits into the ancient Old and New Worlds. I do not attempt to prove or disprove it but to understand it." (p. vii)
And then, the thought that guided me through the perusal of this volume:
"Although the real-world context in which the Book of Mormon took place may make the people and events more real and understandable, the book is still the 'most correct book' because of its spiritual meaning. This commentary attempts to deal with the spiritual and theological context of the Book of Mormon as well as its historical context." (p. vii)
I'm not sure that Gardner will agree with how I have processed this information. Is he suggesting that, should historicity eventually be dismissed, the Book of Mormon will still have value? For years I've believed this to be the case. Even if Zarahemla is never found, even if the Three Nephites turn out to be nothing but pious legend, the spiritual values -- those values that make the Book of Mormon the "most correct book" -- remain, and its value as spiritual guide will continue.
Make no mistake -- Gardner believes that the Book of Mormon is historical. But, as I read, I realized that his commentary offers the reader something that other commentaries may not: a wide generosity in how one can understand the message of the Book of Mormon. Such generosity is rare on both sides of the debate -- either you're for it, or you're against it. Gardner stands in the gap and offers both sides a way approach the book in a constructive manner.
As I read through much of the commentary, I recognized this extraordinary generosity in Gardner's prose. He taps into some of the ideas that have populated biblical criticism, although he tiptoes gently. Here's an example of that generosity. In his discussion of 1 Nephi 4:2-3, and it will be helpful to read the text before reading this commentary, he says the following:
"Nephi's example is, naturally, well known in association with Israel's deliverance from bondage, but Yahweh performed several other miracles. Of all of the stories he could have chosen, Nephi selects one in which Yahweh killed the enemy. Nor does Nephi stop short of making the comparison between their task and the drowning of Pharaoh, for in verse 3 he indicates that they are 'to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.'
"Nephi may not have consciously planned to kill Laban; but if his speech to his brothers was inspired, then Yahweh was foreshadowing in words the course that Nephi would eventually take. If his speech was reconstructed, it may have told what he would have said had he foreknown the result of the meeting with Laban." (p. 115)
Did you catch the last sentence? The possibility is raised that Nephi didn't actually say those words at all, but that the writer "reconstructed" the words in light of what Nephi *would have said* had he known the end from the beginning. May I suggest that this is likely a new thought to many Latter-day Saints? To me, it is reminiscent of the various First Vision accounts, where the canonized version is what Joseph Smith *would have said* had he understood the event more thoroughly. It all adds a new dimension to the study of Mormon scripture, one ripe with possibilities.
Sometimes Gardner wanders into dangerous territory. He raises issues that are often out of bounds in the Mormon canon of belief. Here is part of his comment on 1 Nephi 15:28-29:
"The early Hebrew understanding of the world of the dead appears to be tied to its Canaanite heritage. That inheritance may come from at least 1000 B.C. and conceives the realm of the dead as a place without distinction between righteous and wicked. The Psalms are difficult to date, and may retain ties to the pre-Deuteronomic religion of Israel." (p. 263)
Not to put too fine a point on his comments, several thoughts come to mind:
1. Mormonism is quite clear in that the gospel is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Having Lehi and Nephi, not to mention Adam and others in the Pearl of Great Price, understanding the fullness of the gospel, it's hard to picture the Hebrews having something less than a full knowledge of the plan of salvation. In fact, Gardner's comment leaves open the idea that the Hebrew religion may, at some point, have been a hybrid of Yahweh's laws and the ideas of the Canaanites. This will come as a surprise to many readers.
2. He also mentions the "pre-Deuteronomic religion of Israel," yet another indication that the religion of Israel, rather than coming forth in all its fullness from the beginning, may have gone through something of an evolution, a syncretism of sorts. Many scholars date Deuteronomy long after Moses' time, and define Israel's encounter with Deuteronomy as a much later phenomenon. Again, this may come as a surprise to some readers.
In fact, this book is full of surprises. Gardner takes a wonderfully multi-disciplinary approach to his subject. It is, in its essence, a faithful commentary on the Book of Mormon. Gardner is a true believer, but he's also a true scholar, one who recognizes that our understanding of the Book of Mormon includes Nibley and Sorenson, but is not delimited by their thoughts. To be sure, Gardner uses cites from such as Nibley and Sorenson generously, acknowledging his debt to these men, and others.
Gardner understands the difficulties of understanding the cultural context of the Book of Mormon. He observes very wisely:
"The people of the Book of Mormon lived in two different worlds. The first was the Old World. For a short time, the text is anchored in both space and time by a known location (Jerusalem) and known events...
"When the story moves to the New World, the Book of Mormon becomes a text without a context. No modern Zarahemla enables us to backtrack archaeologically to an ancient Zarahemla...
"Without the human context provided by continuity of place and time, we increase the interpretive disjunction with which we frequently misread the Bible, even with its rich context...
"We tend to read the Bible and the Book of Mormon as though people just like us wrote them. We assume that their concerns were our concerns and that the things that we care about most were precisely the things that they also cared about most. This reading backward of our world into theirs does not diminish our ability to discern spiritual value in the Bible or the Book of Mormon...
"One of this commentary's goals is to recontextualize the Book of Mormon so that it is easier to understand that it is about real people and real places..." (p. 2-3)
Bravo, Brother Gardner. You have accomplished this quite nicely.
I am constrained to mention the introductory materials, in which Gardner explores the field of Book of Mormon scholarship, and prepares the student for a rich and rewarding journey through the Book. No matter how often you've read the Book of Mormon, Gardner's introductory materials make for an amazing re-introduction to a familiar text.
And the author is not slack in acknowledging that, in writing this commentary, he stands on the shoulders of giants, while not always accepting all of their notions and conclusions.
Every so often, a set of books comes along that I consider must-haves. Some years ago, for example, Deseret Book published an amazingly good three-volume series on Jesus the Christ. I thought then, and still believe, that every Latter-day Saint should own a set of these books. Well, here comes yet another must-have set of books.
It may be that the old order, the old ways of studying scripture, are passing away, and all things are becoming new. It is, after all, okay for scholars and writers to go beyond the standard materials. There's only so many ways you can re-cook a stew before someone notices that it's the same old dish.
A new era of Book of Mormon study is breaking upon us. Gardner's work, if I can judge by the first volume, will take the lead in opening this book of scripture to old and new students. Next time I see Gardner, I won't fight with him about galleys. I may just give him a big hug, an enormous "thank you" for so many years of dedicated study, and the stamina to complete this seminal series.
I return to my earlier notions about generosity. To someone like myself, with no clear agenda when it comes to Book of Mormon study, I've discerned a certain comfort level in this book. Gardner never pushes me into a belief I don't have. Instead, he gently guides the reader along, always honoring the agency of the reader, but edging us closer to sense of fondness and awe when reading the Book of Mormon.
More than this we cannot ask. Less than this we should not tolerate. This is a very, very good book, and if the first volume is any example, an outstanding series. If it signals a new era in Book of Mormon scholarship and study, then it is most welcome. Thank you, Brant, for your commitment and your work. And, indeed, thank you, Greg Kofford, for bringing this series to realization.
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com<www.aml-online.org>
<www.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html>
