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vovatI have finally finished reading the Book of Mormon, and I can't say it was a particularly enjoyable read. But I suppose I should finish up my review, even though the last few books are really quite confusing. Well, okay, the book of Mormon (yes, there's a Book of Mormon WITHIN the Book of Mormon; how's that for complicated?) isn't so bad. It merely continues the narrative from the last book, describing how the fourth century was marked by all-out wars between the different groups of descendants of Lehi. Yeah, that sounds a lot like the rest of Joseph Smith's imaginary history, doesn't it? Smith also continues his odd habit of referring to all of Judea as "the land of Jerusalem," and reiterates how the tablets were written in Reformed Egyptian because Hebrew wouldn't fit, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
The next book, that of Ether, provides a lot of history with no real context. Maybe I missed something, but it's not clear when all of the kings mentioned in this chapter actually ruled. We are, however, given many curious anecdotes, including that King Emer had elephants, and King Riplakish established debtors' prisons. We're also told of a character referred to as "the brother of Jared," apparently because his own name isn't important, even though he's the one on whom the story focuses. This brother built barges under the direction of God, made a mountain called Zerin vanish, and saw the Lord's flesh-and-blood finger. The title character is a prophet, who predicted that the New Jerusalem will be builton England's green and pleasant land in America.
The same guy spent some time hiding out from his persecutors inside a rock. And we meet a ruthless war leader named Shiz, who is eventually killed by someone named Coriantumr. Was the former commander the source for the name of the Gillikin city in Wicked? I couldn't say.
The last book is a short one that gives rules for the Church of Latter-Day Saints to follow, most of which aren't particularly different from those of other Christian denominations. We are told that Mormons support infant baptism, though. The Book of Mormon as a whole ends slightly after 420 AD, but this wasn't the end of Smith's writings. I think I'm going to take a break from the whole Mormon scene before even attempting the Pearl of Great Price, however. Actually, I'd appreciate any input into what religious text I should try reading next, even though it might be a little while before I start on any of them.
Also, as a bonus, because I don't feel like making another post about it, I'm going to describe my dream from last night. I really can't remember the order, and I think there were occasional callbacks anyway, which makes the whole situation that much more confusing. I believe it started out as another dream about being back in high school and not being prepared for my math final. Also, there was something about not having a German final at all because of the way the exam schedule was arranged, and I was wondering why the teacher hadn't already given it. I was at my dad's old house, looking for something to eat and getting ready to drive to school (when, in reality, it wasn't until after college that I even learned how to drive). My mom called to tell me that it was really icy outside, which worried me until I realized that it didn't make any sense for there to be ice on the roads in June. Later (or perhaps earlier; I already told you that I can't remember the order), I took a bus to a Sunday School picnic, and found out that another bus that was supposed to join us had gotten into a wreck. At some point, a guy in a Devil costume stepped on me, and the kids at the picnic (including me) crawled through a cave. This somehow changed into a house with secret passages (like in Clue, I guess), and some kid wanting me to help him use a secret passage to play a joke on the person in the room at the other end. As it turned out, though, the other guy was one step ahead of the kid, and used first a chair and then some Homer Simpson toy to block the passage. Also in the dream was something about Christmas, and having to clean up after it was over. Somebody was trying to make me sort through old cassettes, but I came to realize this was a dream and I didn't have to spend it cleaning up. So I left the house and hitched a ride with a girl in a Jeep-like vehicle. I guess I didn't have as much control over the dream as I had hoped, however, as we were soon attacked by a gang. I think we got away from them, but I don't remember there being any more to the dream after that.
The next book, that of Ether, provides a lot of history with no real context. Maybe I missed something, but it's not clear when all of the kings mentioned in this chapter actually ruled. We are, however, given many curious anecdotes, including that King Emer had elephants, and King Riplakish established debtors' prisons. We're also told of a character referred to as "the brother of Jared," apparently because his own name isn't important, even though he's the one on whom the story focuses. This brother built barges under the direction of God, made a mountain called Zerin vanish, and saw the Lord's flesh-and-blood finger. The title character is a prophet, who predicted that the New Jerusalem will be built
The same guy spent some time hiding out from his persecutors inside a rock. And we meet a ruthless war leader named Shiz, who is eventually killed by someone named Coriantumr. Was the former commander the source for the name of the Gillikin city in Wicked? I couldn't say.
The last book is a short one that gives rules for the Church of Latter-Day Saints to follow, most of which aren't particularly different from those of other Christian denominations. We are told that Mormons support infant baptism, though. The Book of Mormon as a whole ends slightly after 420 AD, but this wasn't the end of Smith's writings. I think I'm going to take a break from the whole Mormon scene before even attempting the Pearl of Great Price, however. Actually, I'd appreciate any input into what religious text I should try reading next, even though it might be a little while before I start on any of them.
Also, as a bonus, because I don't feel like making another post about it, I'm going to describe my dream from last night. I really can't remember the order, and I think there were occasional callbacks anyway, which makes the whole situation that much more confusing. I believe it started out as another dream about being back in high school and not being prepared for my math final. Also, there was something about not having a German final at all because of the way the exam schedule was arranged, and I was wondering why the teacher hadn't already given it. I was at my dad's old house, looking for something to eat and getting ready to drive to school (when, in reality, it wasn't until after college that I even learned how to drive). My mom called to tell me that it was really icy outside, which worried me until I realized that it didn't make any sense for there to be ice on the roads in June. Later (or perhaps earlier; I already told you that I can't remember the order), I took a bus to a Sunday School picnic, and found out that another bus that was supposed to join us had gotten into a wreck. At some point, a guy in a Devil costume stepped on me, and the kids at the picnic (including me) crawled through a cave. This somehow changed into a house with secret passages (like in Clue, I guess), and some kid wanting me to help him use a secret passage to play a joke on the person in the room at the other end. As it turned out, though, the other guy was one step ahead of the kid, and used first a chair and then some Homer Simpson toy to block the passage. Also in the dream was something about Christmas, and having to clean up after it was over. Somebody was trying to make me sort through old cassettes, but I came to realize this was a dream and I didn't have to spend it cleaning up. So I left the house and hitched a ride with a girl in a Jeep-like vehicle. I guess I didn't have as much control over the dream as I had hoped, however, as we were soon attacked by a gang. I think we got away from them, but I don't remember there being any more to the dream after that.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 04:53 pm (UTC)And Mormons don't like infant baptism and baptize at age 8. As Alexander Campbell noted at the time of the book's publication, Smith had managed to resolve pretty much every Protestant theological controversy existent at the time in the book.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 05:06 pm (UTC)Since all of Smith's stories of ancient people end with most of them being killed, doesn't that kind of make them pointless? It seems that the book can basically be summed up as, "Yeah, there was an early sect of Jews in America who practiced Christianity...but they all either died or were turned into Indians, so it's not like it really matters."
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 10:27 pm (UTC)And I would some up the point of the BoM as "This is how Christianity should be, as I Joseph Smith believed in 1829, and the teachings and practices of ancient Americans prove it, except that they all conveniently disappeared without a trace 1400 years ago. Lucky me. Now give me 10% of your money and let me marry your attractive wives and daughters."
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 06:02 pm (UTC)Also, that dream sounds so much like one of my dreams that I think I DID dream it before,
no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-17 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 06:45 pm (UTC)http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6696288.html?nid=3316
no subject
Date: 2009-09-18 09:41 pm (UTC)