Review
Title: Rethinking Revelation and the Human Element in Scripture—The Prophet’s Role as Creative Co-Author
Author: Michael R. Ash
Publisher: FAIRLatterDaySaints.org
Genre: Non-Fiction
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: xii + 758
Binding: Paper
ISBN: 978-1-63944-080-1
Price: $34.95
Reviewed by Sam Mitchell for the Association of Mormon Letters
One could summarize Rethinking Revelation and the Human Element in Scripture, by Michael R. Ash, to be a project meant to help readers ponder questions like “How ‘real’ are the scriptures?” and “How trustworthy can they possibly be if their historicity is in doubt?” Such questions, Ash demonstrates, can quickly sprout further queries as one delves into a specifically Latter-day Saint context. For instance, how then are modern issues like evolution, prophetic fallibility, and Book of Mormon historicity and geography to be reconciled and dealt with? Ash not only identifies and discusses these potential stumbling blocks but also offers solutions to harmonize or recontextualize scripture with current academic understandings. He notes: “The primary focus of this book is to analyze the narratives we use to express how God communicates to humans, how that communication involves a very human element, and how secular science and scholarship are also part of that communication” (p. 7). Elsewhere he expresses: “This book attempts to synthesize a harmony between science, history, and LDS religious beliefs. … Once we recognize how humans participate in the revelatory process, we can better comprehend how some revelations can be both divinely inspired as well as humanly deficient and how prophets may act as co-authors to the scripture they give to the world” (p. 12).
Rethinking Revelation consists of five main parts: its introductory chapter, which discusses Ash’s reasoning for his book’s importance; “Worlds in Conflict,” a section comprising chs. 2–6; “The Word of God,” chs. 7–11; “Old World Scripture,” chs. 12–20; and “Latter-Day Scripture,” chs. 21–33. Rethinking Revelation’s first chapter addresses faith crises in the modern age and the need to reconstruct traditional faith narratives. It concludes with Ash’s categorization of different classes of “Mormons,” including “Literalists” (those who approach topics like scripture, prophets, and revelation from an essentially fundamentalist and often anti-science perspective), “Mythicalists” (those who view scriptures as essentially non-historical “inspired narratives”), and “Extensibilists” (a middle ground that can accept the reality of historical figures or prototypes, while acknowledging their potential accretion of additional elements over time) (pp. 24–28).
“Worlds in Conflict” focuses especially on the human element of receiving and interpreting spiritual truths, as well as the usefulness of science to establish truth in places where revelation apparently does not. Ash argues that science and faith should not be seen as enemies but rather as (eventually) complementary halves of a whole (p. 73). This whole can be understood to be divine truth. The ways in which people understand divine truth can be skewed because of mankind’s inherent humanness, which includes the brain’s processes of pattern building and identification, the roles people assign to absolute and subjective truths (which can lead to extremism or to paradigm shifts), and the (un)reliability of human memory (pp. 90–166).
The remaining three sections of Rethinking Revelation tackle a number of important issues, including humans’ (in)ability to accurately comprehend, interpret, and disseminate divine truth; the historicity of scriptural narratives and figures; the roles of covenants in a community, and an individual’s spiritual life; and lengthy examinations of the history of religion and the origins and natures of Judeo-Christian and Latter-day Saint scripture (including the extent to which prophets are allowed creative involvement in the generation of sacred narratives). Several topics, including evolution (pp. 369–405), seer stones and other human elements involved in the revelation of scripture (pp. 480–613), and the origins of the Book of Abraham (pp. 679–715), receive a considerable amount of attention as Ash works to demystify these topics and show how they can be integrated more fully into a Latter-day Saint’s theological perspective.
Throughout Rethinking Revelation, Ash’s methodology consists of critical readings and applications of various academic disciplines; concordist thought and arguments (mostly in regards to the Book of Mormon and historicity); and theological readings and rereading’s of a given scriptural text. It is quite clear that his work is intended for a Latter-day Saint audience who has been exposed to modern critiques of their faith. My own experience with Rethinking Revelation was defined both by the many ideas it prompted within me but also by the times when the book’s presentation drew me away from the contents of the text. While I here transgress the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I must admit that at various times I was distracted by Rethinking Revelation’s editorial mechanics and authorial choices. Minor punctuation and grammatical errors pulled my attention away from the narrative. Ash’s authorial tone occasionally switched from academic to colloquial. At times such a method can be grounding and affirmative of the shared quest for truth on which he and his audience have embarked, but there are other times where it feels somewhat jarring. In one instance, while discussing the problem of extremism in spiritual and theological thought, he offers a somewhat amusing but ultimately unnecessary anecdote featuring the movie Young Frankenstein (p. 176). Further, Ash for the most part utilized footnotes only to record citation information, neglecting their alternate and more helpful function of addressing topics tangential or supplementary to the main narrative.
In spite of problems of presentation, the actual contents of Rethinking Revelation demonstrate that Latter-day Saints can thoroughly and thoughtfully consider and interact with ideas that challenge their faith. While sometimes verging on the extremely speculative (see, for instance, his discussion of the ethnicity of “Mulekites” in the Book of Mormon in Ch. 30, pp. 648–654), Ash nevertheless advocates, in word and deed, for thoughtful approaches to difficult and sensitive issues. His work demonstrates that he is an eager student of a variety of academic and scientific disciplines, from history to zoology to genetics to linguistics. He is unafraid to express his own personal leanings on a given subject but additionally considers what others might theorize about the same issue and how their conclusions cohere or contrast with his own model(s). A significant segment of the book is devoted to highlighting two separate schools of thought regarding the textual history of the Book of Abraham (see pp. 679–715). Ash not only recounts his previous opinions on the matter but also clearly states that he is still unsure of which option is most convincing at present: “I’m still undecided which theory better fits all of the evidences. I think it is good to examine all the options” (p. 701). I found this to be a simple but profound form of academic honesty, in which Ash makes it clear that he is still en route to full understanding.
Even this rather concise review makes it apparent, I hope, that Rethinking Revelation is truly voluminous in its ambition and scope. While I personally found various aspects of Ash’s presentation lacking or frustrating, many of his arguments are compelling and thought-provoking. Whether or not I agreed with his conclusions, I often mentally revisited a topic or argument I had read in Rethinking Revelation as I went throughout my day. Ash demonstrates that a believer in rigorous academic methods and conclusions need not be a non-spiritual person. He also provides a model for Latter-day Saints to utilize in their wrestle with challenging aspects of their faith. These serve as evidence enough for me that, whatever its other successes or failures, Rethinking Revelation is an important contribution to broader conversations about the modern Latter-day Saint’s capacity to interact with the academy and with the challenges of our day.