I have read a random-ish sample of it, more than 50 pages. As far as style, it is exactly like the stuff people write when they want to make fun of “Bible talk” - gratuitous Thees and Thous; using old verb forms like hadst and wouldst without understanding how they work and therefore getting the grammar mostly wrong; and broken, nonsensical, pseudo-olde-timey sentence structure.
As far as content, well, imagine a green young wannabe sci-fi/fantasy author (emphasis on the wannabe and fantasy parts), 24 years old, in the early 19th century, deciding to invent a new religion that sounds vaguely biblical but is pretty strict about “Made In America”, except for the part about its ancient Egyptian origins.
Because, well, that’s what it is. It’s a 19th-century fantasy novel written entirely in “fake Bible talk”. Thou better believe thou it, yea, unto the uttermost, the real real uttermost, better thou it believing unto. Yea and verily.
Although I had been extremely devout up through early high school, I had never actually read the Book of Mormon other than reading verses in church. When I went on a mission, I decided to finally really read it.
I simply could not shake the feeling that it was Bible fan fiction. That was one of the final nails in the coffin for me.
Well, there is the common Mormon–sorry, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-ian–belief that the Saved will ascend to the planet Kolob which is nearest to Heaven in the Celestical Kingdom, so that’s pretty science-fiction-y. The CJCLDS claims that it is not official doctrine, but since Brigham Young among other authorities in the church hierarchy espoused literal belief in it and it is referenced in the Book of Abraham, it’s kind of difficult to say it isn’t a a part of Mormon belief.
I don’t actually think that Mormonism is any more fake than any other religion, none of which have a shred of actual objective evidence to substantiate the idea of a supernatural creator, an afterlife, angels and seraphs, or any of the other fictions of religions; it is just more obviously fabricated than most religions, largely by dint of the relative newness of its traditions and the amateur writing of its texts, plus the history of Joseph Smith as a known prevaricator who grew up during a period and location of Adventism and Restorationism. It’s traditions of false scholarship, and in particular the archeological expeditions to Mexico to substantiate purported prior societies, are demonstrably counterfactual, but then the Catholic Church had to abandon its entire view of cosmology and natural history with the advent of modern astronomy, paleontology, and modern evolutionary synthesis, which it did with great reluctance and comical equivocation.
I keep everything combined, since it is too hard to distinguish the border cases.
My Bible (filed under G for God, house pseudonym) is not that far from Towing Jehovah.
The Times article today says their style guide is not going to change, so the LDSers will still be Mormons.
More believable than any revelation from any supposed god.
