|
July 19, 2008
Richard Bushman’s Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction is the best work on Mormonism that could come out at this time. It is by the right author and published by the right press. It is the best work because it defines simply but elegantly the essential nature of Mormonism and addresses in a timely way the main issues about Mormonism currently in the public sphere. With his impeccable and highly honored credentials in the scholarly world, his profound historical and doctrinal knowledge, and his exceptional communication skills, Richard Bushman is exactly the right person to have written this book. I would venture that in time his Mormonism will receive his largest audience ever. The distinguished Oxford University Press assures widespread exposure to Bushman’s book by placing it in its Very Short Introductions series. This is the same press that has given us Terryl Givens’ highly acclaimed books, The Viper on the Hearth, By the Hand of Mormon, and People of Paradox and is bringing out Givens’ commentary on the Book of Mormon and his edited collection of essays, with Reid Neilson, on Joseph Smith, Jr.
Bushman introduces his work by asking, “What sets Mormons apart?” He answers that succinctly by an exposition on the doctrines, persons, and history of the Restoration. In his subsequent six chapters, Bushman gracefully and knowledgeably tells 1) how Joseph Smith’s revelations set the pattern for every Mormon to seek inspiration, 2) how the organization of the City of Zion constituted Mormons as a people as well as a church, 3) how the Mormon priesthood is both hierarchical and democratic, 4) how Mormons understand the meaning of life, 5) how old ideals and new struggles formed Mormon identity, and 6) how Mormons left their homeland and fought to retain their distinctiveness. A dozen illustrations add interest and impact to the book.
I see a parallel between Bushman’s Mormonism and the Articles of Faith. At the close of his 1842 letter to John Wentworth, Joseph Smith expressed concisely yet thoroughly the basic articles of faith of the church he was privileged to found. Likewise, Bushman’s “Very Short Introduction” expresses a culmination of his lifetime’s thought and experience regarding Mormonism. Both works were intended primarily for people not of the LDS faith, yet both works have great significance for Latter-day Saints. Just as Latter-day Saints give out cards containing the Articles of Faith, so I anticipate they will begin giving out Richard Bushman’s Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction. If so, it will be a subtle but effective invitation for others to come to Zion.
Bushman’s concluding paragraph gives a reason for Mormons to share his book and to reaffirm their own beliefs:
Mormons often have trouble explaining what they believe. They usually say something about the return of revelation and priesthood. Often they will refer to their own experience with personal revelation. That is probably as good an answer as any, but it falls short of the actual nature of Mormon faith. Mormonism is an array of doctrines, communal interaction, ritual, private worship, and spiritual history integrated into a life experience. The complexity and comprehensiveness of the whole are the reason Mormons keep their faith. They know they are part of a satisfying and enriching culture. To depart from the Mormon circle is to abandon a plenteous and ordered existence for the perplexities and sorrows of modern life. All this gives Mormons reason to hold on to the faith at the center of their lives.
-- Richard Dilworth Rust, Professor Emeritus of English, University of North Carolina
|
