Petrey et al., “The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition” (Reviewed by Sam Mitchell)

Title:  The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition
Editors: Taylor G. Petrey, Cory Crawford, and Eric A. Eliason
Publisher:  The University of Utah Press
Genre: Religious Non-fiction, Biblical Studies 
Year Published: 2023
Number of Pages: viii + 479.
Binding:  Hardback, Paperback, Digital
ISBN:  9781647690984
Price: (paperback) $45.00.

Reviewed by Sam Mitchell for the Association for Mormon Letters

The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition examines various intersections of biblical studies and, as the title notes, “the Latter-day Saint Tradition.” Contributing scholars offer one or two essays each on a particular intersection, with some overlap in terms of content addressed. This work is meant to survey existing thought on topics pertaining to the reception and utilization of the Bible, biblical studies, and related fields by Latter-day Saints. In many ways, it works well as a volume that experts, non-experts, and students alike could use to situate themselves in a given space of Latter-day Saint and biblical scholarship. As Taylor Petrey notes in his “Introduction” (1–15):

some of the information here will be rather new and other treatments feel more introductory depending on one’s familiarity with the topics. A volume such as this then seeks to advance the field of LDS biblical studies, broadly defined, by offering both an introductory survey of the major issues and topics as well as providing new, more sophisticated analysis and clarity to the most important issues. (12)

In general, The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition focuses on the intersections of biblical studies with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While other branches of Joseph Smith’s Restoration movement are occasionally noted, this volume deals most often with the Utah-based Church. I offer this disclaimer not as a critique but as a general observation lest interested parties misinterpret the title’s “Tradition” to include more than the volume itself seeks to address. Indeed, addressing the reception of the Bible and biblical studies in other Restoration branches will no doubt soon become a necessary task for Mormon Studies, but such work will also require specific and individualized volumes that cannot incorporate each and every strand of Mormon thought in their pages.

The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition is divided into five parts, each including at least five essays that examine various aspects of the section’s overarching theme. Part One is titled “The Ancient World of the Bible as Understood by Latter-day Saints: From Joseph Smith to Contemporary Scholarship (17–114). Topics here range from Bible translations to Joseph Smith’s “Inspired Translation” to biblical history and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Part Two, “Conceptions of Canon and Not Canon: The Bible(s) and Restoration Scripture” (115–181), offers essays on the formation of both biblical and Latter-day Saint canon, including the reception of the Bible in the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price. Part Three is “A Variety of Critical Biblical Approaches and Their Relevance to Mormon Studies” (183–284)—here, discussions on historical, textual, and feminist criticisms of biblical studies highlight a wide-ranging scope of approaches and intersections of Latter-day Saint scholarship on the Bible.

The final two parts of The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition are interested in history and narrative. Part Four, “Inheritance and Divergence: Latter-day Saints Read Others Reading the Bible” (285–348), in general, paints a historical picture of the creation(s) and receptions of the Bible by various groups throughout time—as well as the reception of those groups and their work by Latter-day Saints. Part Five closes the volume with “Latter-day Saint Approaches to the Bible’s Major Genres and Divisions” (349–462). With the most entries per section, Part Five has four essays dealing with major divisions of the Hebrew Bible and how their contents relate to and have been utilized by Latter-day Saints. The second half of Part Five has four essays on the New Testament, addressing similar concerns with similar approaches as the first half of this section.

As with any review of an edited volume (including The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition), my experience with each essay was bounded by my own biases and preferences. Some simply spoke more to me than others did—some had styles that were easier for me to accept than others, and subject matter often played a large part in whether I felt fully invested in the particular scholar’s argument. That being said, I believe that all the scholars involved did a wonderful job at an extremely difficult task: condensing multifaceted disciplines, academic advancements, and scholastic histories into easily navigable and digestible concentrates. This offers interested parties clear and concise ways to find personal preferences and interests. Regarding the overall impact of the book, Petrey remarks: “The present volume adds to the new conversations [on Latter-day Saint reception and affiliation with biblical studies] by consolidating what has come before and advancing the field by clarifying key issues and clearing out the underbrush” (15).

In reviews such as this, I typically offer a brief summary of two or three of my favorite pieces in the work. Rather than following that familiar formula, I will this time instead point out that I believe The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition has helped to break ground for similar iterations for future audiences on a more global scale. Much of the book addresses Western approaches (highly influenced by the German schools of the mid-nineteenth century) to biblical studies, as well as the reception of the Bible and biblical studies by North American Latter-day Saints. While the history and availability of such scholarship cannot be addressed here (much of it, intentionally or not, is discussed in this book!), I will note that the tide must surely change. As the engagement with biblical studies grows globally, I suspect that more and more Latter-day Saints living outside of Utah and the West, in general, will be pressed to deal with biblical inerrancy, historicity, and impacts on the Restoration. The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition, coupled with additional and future resources at their disposal, will help the Saints and scholars hereafter better navigate these sometimes difficult and almost always complex issues.

Filled with concise and concentrated essays and intent on pushing the field forward by showing us where it has already been, The Bible and the Latter-day Saint Tradition is thought-provoking and interesting—not only because of the insights of its contributing scholars, but most especially because it seeks to take seriously Mormon and biblical studies. It and its contributors are in general interested in the improved reception and utilization of the Bible and biblical studies in the Latter-day Saint community. I too, am anxious to see how things will develop going forward.