Review
Title: Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint Tradition
Editors: Christine Elyse Blythe, Christopher James Blythe, and Jay Burton
Publisher: The University of Utah Press
Genre: Religious Non-Fiction
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 384
Binding: Paper or Cloth
ISBN: 9781647690816
Price: $95.00 (Cloth)
Reviewed by Cheryl L. Bruno for the Association for Mormon Letters
One of the most proudly proclaimed principles of the Latter Day Saint movement is that we have an open canon.
A closed canon refers to the belief that the collection of texts that make up the biblical canon is fixed and complete, with no additional texts to be added. In the Christian tradition, the New Testament canon was officially closed by church councils in the fourth century, establishing a list of 27 books considered authoritative and divinely inspired. The closed canon perspective is held by most Christians, including Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants.
The belief in an open canon is based on the idea that God is still revealing himself to humanity through new texts and prophets. Therefore, the canon must remain open to allow for the possibility of new revelations and spiritual insights. This perspective can be seen as more inclusive and flexible, allowing for the incorporation of new voices and perspectives. It also promotes ongoing discussions and debates about what should be considered canonical.
The book Open Canon, a collection of essays edited by Christine Elyse Blythe, Christopher James Blythe, and Jay Burton, showcases the expansive landscape of the LDS open canon. The essays invite readers on a journey through the pages of new scripture and new religious movements, traversing horizons of divine revelation and forging paths of understanding and faith.
In the foreword to Open Canon, Philip L. Barlow cautions:
We do not understand the complex religion emerging from the life and work of the antebellum American prophet Joseph Smith if we fail to grapple with his relation to scripture…we cannot comprehend scripture’s character unless we grasp its potential for assuming alternate forms. (xxvii)
Extracanonical scripture is essential in the Latter-day Saint tradition because it helps believers to reinterpret the Bible from a new perspective. As Christopher Blythe notes:
the Bible was no longer the same once it was read through the lens of new revelation…Mormons learned to read the Bible in innovative ways, reinterpreting well-known stories to fit their new tradition. (3-4)
This approach to reading the Bible enabled early Latter-day Saints to grapple with their prophet Joseph Smith’s relationship to scripture. Indeed, as Laurie Maffly-Kipp writes, early followers of Joseph Smith Jr. “traversed canonical borders more exuberantly” than anyone else, frequently turning to the King James Version of the Bible to frame their imaginings (19).
Finally, as Richard L. Saunders suggests by quoting Miriam Levering:
it is profitable to ‘[examine] all of the ways in which individuals and communities receive these words and texts: the ways people respond to the texts, the way they make use of them, the contexts in which they turn to them, and the understandings of what it is to read them or to understand them, and the roles they find such words and texts can have in their religious projects’. (40)
Essays in Open Canon thus analyze the reception of Joseph Smith’s revelations and give case studies of new scripture brought forth following his death.
In the post-Joseph Smith Latter Day Saint tradition, multiple versions of canonical texts may exist, each of which has impacted the way it is received and interpreted. Joseph M. Spencer chronicles the numerous revisions and editions of the Book of Mormon and the parallel existence of two versions of this scripture used over the years by the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Utah based). “Each has taken its basic text from rather different original sources; each has utilized profoundly distinct paratextual apparatuses to present the Book of Mormon to its adherents and to the world” (96). Solae scripturae Mormonism, such as that of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), relies solely on the Bible and the Book of Mormon as primary sources of authority, which allows for a more limited scope of continuing revelation but also helps to limit fissiparousness. As Chrystal Vanel explains, this approach enables evaluation and reform according to these two scriptures and resists late theological innovations. By examining Joseph Smith’s letter from Liberty Jail, Kathleen Flake observes that Latter-day Saint tradition retains a historical context and acknowledges the role of human actors in the production of its scriptures. This emphasis on historical context provides a sense of identity and purpose, as well as a strong emphasis on the authority and importance of scripture in the Mormon community. Finally, for many denominations, extracanonical texts such as the Lectures on Faith function as a sign of adherence to an original tradition, as noted by Van Wagoner, Walker, Roberts, and Christine Blythe.
Mormon splinter groups have often used new scripture as a means of distinguishing themselves from other groups and correcting perceived doctrinal errors. For example, Janiece Johnson notes that Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, became “her own prophetic narrator proffering new scripture to the Saints” (167). First presented orally, it became a sacred text, expanding and correcting the story of Mormonism’s beginnings. Chris and Christine Blythe observe that the Strangite scripture continued the Latter Day Saint scriptural tradition while continuing the debate over authenticity and fraud. Charles B. Thompson’s Book of Enoch was a rare example of correction literature that fused historical and revealed translation methods to contest rival Mormon bodies. William Bickerton, who attempted to build his own form of Zion, broke revelatory boundaries by accepting revelations from anyone in his church, regardless of gender or race. Finally, Sidney Rigdon and his wife Phebe produced one hundred revelations that they read as scripture, but they rejected Joseph Smith’s doctrine of plural marriage and used this rejection to stake out a position distinct from other Mormon groups. New scripture was central in the formation and differentiation of Mormon splinter groups. Christopher Blythe observes: “while on one hand, we should see the mass of scriptures that emerged after Smith’s death as a collective body of literature, we must also remember that they were polemical texts leveraged against one another” (215).
Schism in Mormonism is not simply a matter of disagreement over doctrine or practice but reflects deeper tensions around authority, tradition, and innovation. This can clearly be seen in twentieth and twenty-first-century Mormon scriptural works. According to Christopher Blythe Evans, Henry Edgar Baker’s “Word of the Lord,” was “a symbol of revelation from outside the church’s hierarchy” (288) and prompted resistance and clarification from LDS church leadership, highlighting the tension between centralized authority and individual spiritual experience. This tension is further exemplified in the House of Aaron, a communal community influenced by a variety of traditions, which seeks to balance the expectations of newer generations with reverence for older traditions and beliefs. Earl John Brewer’s story of his discoveries in southern Utah “illustrates that long after Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century translation of the Book of Mormon inscribed metal plates still exert a powerful pull on the religious imagination” (318). Matthew Gill’s new scripture is another example of the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation in Mormonism, and it reveals the extent to which all Mormon new religious movements draw upon the tradition. As Matthew Bowman notes, Gill’s movement “slips nicely into the Mormon hermeneutic,” revealing the “extent to which the dynamics of Mormon schism reflect the complicated cultural dynamics of the LDS Church itself and thus the ways in which all Mormon new religious movements draw upon the tradition” (347).
The greater Mormon community has a unique relationship with scripture that is influenced by various factors. The “open canon” approach to scripture has been essential in the tradition, enabling believers to reinterpret the Bible from a new perspective and explore their prophet Joseph Smith’s innovative ideas. The open canon has enabled the Mormon community to continue to evolve and incorporate new perspectives and voices, creating a rich and diverse religious tradition.
The book Open Canon has been the most interesting non-fiction book I have read in years. Though far from complete, the book presents an in-depth examination of a representative sample of the extensive collection of texts within the LDS tradition. It makes me want to learn more about these texts. Open Canon invites its readers to delve into new scripture and religious movements, navigating the many facets of divine revelation and forging pathways toward greater understanding and faith.