Devotional Reading and Critical Reading
This page does not adjudicate between the two readings; it places them side by side so the reader can discern the difference between them. Each question is presented as the devotional reading answers it (from within the framework of belief in the text) and as the critical/scholarly reading poses it (from outside the framework of belief in the text).
| Question | Devotional Reading | Critical/Scholarly Reading |
|---|---|---|
| How does the text present itself? | An ancient abridged record written by prophets on plates, translated by Joseph Smith through revelation | A religious text that appeared in America in 1830 presenting itself as an ancient record. Analyze how these claims are constructed within the text |
| What does it mean to be an “ancient record”? | The text is a genuine record of ancient peoples who inhabited the Americas | The text uses the “ancient record” form as a literary and theological framework. Studied within the phenomenon of “discovered sacred texts” in religious history |
| How is the legitimacy of revelation constructed? | Revelation is real: God spoke to ancient prophets, and speaks today. Joseph Smith is a prophet like the ancient prophets | The text builds the legitimacy of revelation through a chain of interconnected claims: record → hiding → discovery → translation → witness. This mechanism is studied as a morphology (structure) of religious claim |
| How does America appear as sacred geography? | America is the “promised land” chosen by God and preserved for the last days | The text redraws the map of the sacred: it transfers the center of religious history from Palestine to America. This coheres with the context of building American religious identity in the 19th century |
| How does the text use the language of the Bible? | The text uses the language of the Bible because the source of revelation is one | The text imitates the King James Version (KJV) in style and idiom. This raises questions about the history of the text: why does it use 17th-century language while claiming to be translated from an ancient text? |
| What is the text’s relationship to the Bible? | The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, alongside the testimony of the Bible. Both come from a single divine source | The Book of Mormon rewrites biblical themes in an American context. It can be read as a modern “midrash” (interpretation/rewriting) of the biblical text |
| Are the characters historical or narrative? | Real people who lived and wrote the events as they happened | Characters are studied as narrative roles that perform functions in the text, regardless of their historical existence. The question is not “Did Nephi exist?” but “What is Nephi’s function in constructing the narrative and theology?” |
| How is the “other” constructed in the text? | The Lamanites disobeyed God and received a curse (dark skin). This is their lot until they repent | The text constructs a racial/religious distinction between Nephites (white, civilized, righteous) and Lamanites (dark, primitive, wicked). This construction is studied in the context of racial conceptions in 19th-century America |
| How does the promise at the end of the text work (Moroni 10)? | A genuine divine promise: whoever asks God in faith will receive a spiritual witness of the book’s truth | A rhetorical mechanism that transfers the authority of judgment from the text to the reader: “Don’t believe me, ask God.” This mechanism insulates the text from external criticism and makes personal experience the criterion |
| What is the difference between believing in the text and analyzing it? | Belief precedes analysis. The goal is to draw near to God. Analysis is a means, not an end | Analysis requires neither belief nor disbelief. The goal is to understand the text: its structure, ideas, and context. Academic study brackets belief |
| How do we read contradictions or differences? | Contradictions are apparent and are resolved through deeper understanding or additional context. Error lies in human understanding, not in the text | Contradictions are studied as entry points for understanding the history of the text’s composition, multiple sources, or the development of ideas within it |
| What kind of history does the text claim? | True, inspired history: events occurred as written | The text presents “sacred history”: a mode of writing that blends event with theological interpretation. The question is not “Did it happen?” but “How does the text construct its own history?” |
How to Read This Table
The purpose of this table is not to prove one side right and the other wrong. The purpose is:
- To know that there is more than one way to read the text
- To distinguish when you are reading from within the framework of belief and when from outside it
- To pose your own questions, not to limit yourself to the questions presented here
The two columns are not equivalent in everything: the devotional reading answers, and the critical reading often questions. This is a difference in method, not in value.