Review
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Title: Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint Tradition
Editors: Christine Elyse Blythe, Christopher James Blythe, and Jay Burton
Publisher: Salt Lake City, UT: The University of Utah Press
Genre: History
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: xxviii + 379
Binding: Paperback and Hardcover
ISBN-13: : 9781647690823
Price: $39.95 (paperback)
Reviewed by Samuel Mitchell for the Association for Mormon Letters
Open Canon is a collection of essays from a variety of scholars, all addressing different aspects and pieces of scriptural canon among branches of the Latter-Day Saint movement. It is a much-needed installment that helps provide a fuller picture of the complexity of Restoration-based or -influenced groups and their own scriptural traditions. Open Canon helps show that there are various denominations that at one time or another have considered Joseph Smith, Jr., as a prophet and the Book of Mormon as valid and authoritative scripture. Not only do the scholar-authors of Open Canon approach these topics with sensitivity and professionalism, but they also strive to take seriously the importance these communities attribute to their scriptural texts, including but not limited to the Bible and the Book of Mormon. This work should be on the shelf of every student of historical and modern “Mormonisms” and other Latter Day Saint groups.
Open Canon is arranged into four parts. “Part I: Introductory Essays” sets the stage for the rest of the book, laying important groundwork and foundations for ways in which Restoration scripture has been, is, and should be considered (1–61). “Part II: Reception of Joseph Smith’s Revelations” (63–145) deals largely with sacred texts generated either by Joseph Smith or during his lifetime, including the Book of Mormon(s), Smith’s letters from Liberty Jail, and the Lectures on Faith. The final two sections (“Part III,” 147–263; “Part IV,” 265–367) are “Case Studies in New Scripture,” with the third section focusing on the nineteenth century and the fourth and final section on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
As with any collection of essays, one’s personal interests will have a major impact on their reception of both individual pieces and the collection as a whole. For me, Open Canon is thought-provoking and mind-expanding; it challenges its readers to address a multiplicity of Latter-Day Saint movements and their texts—some well-known, others now barely connected to Joseph Smith and his Restoration. The thorny rift of the 1844 Succession Crisis looms large in many of these essays, as its impact cannot be understated when discussing how differing Latter-Day Saint groups understand and produce authority and scriptures.
Time and space unfortunately do not permit me to review each essay individually—instead, I will address a handful that struck me personally and were of extreme interest. They should also be a good representation of the rest of Open Canon’s contents. I look forward to further works that follow in Open Canon’s footsteps and strive to take seriously and scholastically the scriptures of the Restoration(s).
Joseph M. Spencer’s “Books of Mormon: Latter-day Saints, Latter Day Saints, and the Book of Mormon” (65–96) examines the reception and utilization of the Book of Mormon by the Latter-day Saints who followed Brigham Young and the Latter Day Saints who eventually coalesced under Joseph Smith III’s leadership. Spencer’s argument—that “there have been at least two Books of Mormon [one LDS, the other RLDS/CofC] in circulation since 1860 … despite the fact that the vast majority of the words in the two books are basically the same” (66)—is thorough and convincing. By analyzing the textual histories of these two Books of Mormon, Spencer shows the fascinating flip-flop of editorial standards and communal receptions of these sacred texts, highlighting how both Latter-Day Saint traditions borrowed from and reacted to the other’s use of the Book of Mormon. I hope that this essay will serve as an indispensable historical aid as continued interfaith dialogue between the LDS and CofC communities progresses.
Kathleen Flake’s “Joseph Smith’s Letter from Liberty Jail: A Study in Canonization” (117–131) offers a beautiful analysis of the Liberty Jail letter as it exists in canonical form. Flake is sure to intersperse Smith’s additional comments and teachings between those segments that are now canonized, offering a broader picture of his writings from Liberty. She touches briefly on Orson Pratt’s role in selecting segments for publication in the Latter-day Saint Doctrine and Covenants, highlighting the universality of those that are now found in LDS scripture and the sometimes harsher and localized tones of those left out. Flake also offers a beautiful theological (re)reading of the Liberty Jail letter, arguing that its canonized contents “honored in [their] day and memorialized for future generations a watershed experience of personal suffering and collective loss, made sense of a colossal failure related to core aspects of the church’s mission, and authoritatively legislated a rule of faith that gave hope of overcoming that failure” (130).
Christopher C. Smith’s “The Hidden Records of Central Utah and the Struggle for Religious Authority” (316–343) examines a world that I know very little of—Book of Mormon treasure hunting. Revolving around a quest to discover, retrieve, and occasionally distribute hundreds of purportedly Jaredite plates and objects in Manti, Utah, “Hidden Records” points not only to the literary importance of scriptures but their physicality as well. “At stake is nothing less than scientific proof of the supernatural and visible fulfillment of ancient prophecies of the last days. … Sacred objects don’t just symbolize religious authority; they mediate and confer it in a very real way” (318). Thoroughly researched and very well-written, Smith’s article spends less time on any translated texts and more on the hunt for ancient artifacts. At times the truth seems stranger than fiction, with Latter-day Saint apostles, ancient aliens, and Jaredite mummies all making cameo appearances in this analysis of the physical power of a sacred text or object.
The level of scholarship and the respect shown to the wide variety of Latter-Day Saint communities were very appealing. Open Canon is an important contribution and step forward in the study of scripture and scripturalization among Latter Day Saint groups. Its timely focus on ecumenical respect and dialogue helps to keep the book’s tone respectful and generous. It does not shy away from difficult historical realities for any Restoration movement, nor does it needlessly critique a particular group’s idiosyncratic texts and practices. Open Canon is a must-read for those interested in understanding and appreciating the scriptures that have grown from the teachings of Joseph Smith and those who followed him.