Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion

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Oxford University Press, 1997 M02 27
The Mormons have been one of the most studied American religious groups; still, no consensus exists about the essential nature of the movement or its place in American religion. In this study, Barlow analyzes the approaches taken to the Bible by key Mormon leaders, from founder Joseph Smith up to the present day. He shows that Mormon attitudes toward the Bible comprise an extraordinary mix of conservative, liberal, and radical ingredients: an almost fundamentalist adherence to the King James Version of the Bible coexists with belief in the possibility of new revelation and surprising ideas on the limits of human language. Exploring this unique Mormon stance on scripture, Barlow takes important steps toward unraveling the mystery of this quintessential American religious phenomenon.
 

Contents

The Bible in Antebellum America
3
Joseph Smith and the Bible 1820
17
From the Birth of the Church to the Death
43
The Bible
74
The Mormon Response to Higher Criticism
103
Why the King James Version?
148
The Bible in Contemporary Mormonism
182
The Ambiguities of a
215
Select Bibliography
229
Index
241
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About the author (1997)

Philip L. Barlow is Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Hanover College.

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