When I began to read Tad R. Callister’s book, I honestly could not place what Callister’s intended audience was. As it is a “case” or argument for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, I presumed that it might be for members of other Christian faiths who disbelieve the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. But I soon came to the conclusion that this book is for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is also a book for men.
Callister does a thorough job of referencing LDS leaders and teachers, as well as the Maxwell Institute, Hugh Nibley, FAIR Mormon, and various LDS antiquarians. His work is well organized and I have no doubt that he prayed in constructing the book. It is a solid work for believing church members who wish to develop their position on the most often targeted criticisms of the authenticity of the book of Mormon.
The language used by Callister is patriarchal, which is to say, absent of female concerns, critiques or characterisations. While Sidney Rigdon’s testimony is subtitled, Emma Smith’s testimony and witness are only used as support—making her witness feel secondary, rather than primary. You might argue that Callister included Mary Whitmer and Lucy Smith, but he did so only in his references and notes (p152), not as primary witnesses. His reasoning for this is clear, in a table where he has “Confusion in Some of the Christian Wold” in one column, and Truth Clarified or Restored by the Book of Mormon” in an opposing column, under the heading “The Melchizedek Priesthood” he states that only men can hold the priesthood, which to me was disappointing in that it could have been an easy way to include the work of women in the temple.
At the end of the day, this is a good book, and I enjoyed it, but not as much as I had hoped or anticipated. It would be a good gift for the Mormon men in your life, but not a good choice for Mormon women as I did struggle to retain full attention with its patriarchal stylings and tone.
5 Responses
From how you describe it, I would say perhaps not so good a gift for Mormon men either, as the last thing they need is to have their patriarchal viewpoints go unchallenged, and in fact be reinforced.
Amen…. And a little woman. (Clarissa Pinkola Estes)
I bought this book, thinking it had some new insight. I think I read a positive review to that effect. What a let down. I haven’t actually read it, but I skimmed it enough to know it’s just the same old party line. It’s going in the donate pile.
Thanks for the review. It is fascinating to me how subtle the messages are that tell women, “This isn’t for you”. We’ll, sometimes they’re subtle.
I agree. I think my biggest issue, besides the male-centred focus was that is was an antiquarian argument intended to “prove” the Book of Mormon’s truth. I personally do not doubt the truth or authenticity of the Book of Mormon. I do however, doubt the teaching of permanent servitude and “separate but equal” ideology involving men and women.
Thank you for everyone’s comments.