Of Faith and Reason: 80 Scholarly Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith

By Michael R. Ash

Reviewed by Blair Dee Hodges
On 9/25/2009

Cedar Fort, 2008 Soft cover:
191 pages
ISBN-10: 1-59955-231-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59955-231-6 Price: $14.99

Michael Ash's apologetic articles have been appearing online and in LDS publications for over a decade. What offensive thing could he possibly do to require such a lengthy apology? Actually, Ash isn't "sorry," rather he considers himself an "apologist" in the original sense of the word; a "defender of the faith." Ash has been busy researching and answering criticism against the LDS Church and his latest offering is Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith, a collection of eighty-plus bite-sized examples of Joseph Smith "getting things right" in spite of the odds against him. Clocking in at under 200 pages, the book is a breeze-through which needn't be read cover to cover; readers can take any sections in any order. This is a "greatest hits" mix-tape and the reader can put it on shuffle or go straight through.

Ash doesn't provide (or expect to find) unequivocal proof that Joseph Smith's revelations and translations are authentic because "faith — which entails humility and a heart aligned with the teachings of the Savior — is necessary for true conversion" (Ash, xii). Instead, he hopes a collection of "secular evidences" will assist in the process of conversion by "provid[ing] an atmosphere where a spiritual witness can flourish" (xiii). Such evidences can support, not replace, faith.

Rather than providing new research, Ash has borrowed from an already-burgeoning LDS scholarship that has been adding up since Hugh Nibley got the ball rolling (relatively speaking). Readers who are familiar with much of what Nibley, FARMS, and FAIR have produced will recognize most of Ash's included evidences. Ash says these available resources have remained unknown to many Latter-day Saints — including Nibley's work ("relatively few members have actually read his writings," [xiv]). To Ash, Latter-day Saints could profit greatly by spending less time watching TV or surfing the web and more time learning about exciting new discoveries (xv). Perhaps some readers are simply unaware of LDS scholarly sources, or maybe they're bored or discouraged by technical language and length. Ash hopes to make discoveries more accessible: "The purpose of this book is to share some of the evidences for the prophetic abilities of Joseph Smith, the antiquity of many unique LDS doctrines and practices, and the fascinating support for the authenticity of the LDS scriptures. While I rely on the research of top LDS scholars, the data is presented in short snippets that should make it easier to both read and digest. For those whose appetites are teased by the summaries in this book, the endnotes will lead to more in-depth material," (xv).

To give readers an idea of how far scholarly evidences have come, Ash cites anti-Mormon literature spanning from the 1830s to today; many criticisms have lost ground as new information is discovered. The original laughter over Joseph Smith's strange invention of "reformed Egyptian" has faded as examples of such a script have multiplied (38-40). Strange descriptions of the early Lehite journeys through the Old World wilderness turn out to be accurate descriptions of real locations unknown in Joseph Smith's 1830 surroundings (pp. 53-54, 62, 65). In all, Ash cites evidence regarding Joseph Smith's prophetic career, the Book of Mormon's Old and New World shadows, the Book of Abraham, and various uniquely-LDS doctrines. An appendix describes ancient documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library to familiarize Latter-day Saints with some of the material he cites throughout the book (181-189).

I believe Latter-day Saints can benefit by becoming more familiar with much of what Ash includes. Some of Ash's evidences are stronger than others — I seem less impressed with "word-print" studies, for instance,[1] and his section on the Book of Abraham is too skinny.[2] The largest problem I see is that the book does not discuss the nature of parallels or describe any method of evaluating (or even discovering) them. Instead, he emphasizes the "how could Joseph have known" angle. Such parallels can easily become enmeshed in ideological battle over whether the Book of Mormon is an actual ancient record (now translated into Joseph Smith's idiom), or a 19th-century inspired forgery, or a fraud of some kind (or something else!). Parallels from the 19th century would trump those Ash advances for some readers, and such parallels are often presented in a similar style — that is, quick soundbites like Ash's without good discussion of method. Can the approach help "even out" the discussion for a person who is confused about criticisms of the Book of Mormon, or inspire readers to "give place" for the possibility the Book of Mormon is an ancient and authentic record? There have been interesting discussions in the pages of Dialogue, the FARMS Review, and elsewhere that discuss the use of parallels.[3] Ash's book certainly isn't geared for an audience interested in such meta-discussion, however. (Perhaps my talking about it in this review has already caused some boredom or desertion!) His effort should be judged by his goal, which is to hook otherwise disinterested or uninformed readers on learning more about scholarly discoveries and Joseph Smith's claims.

Ideally, readers will be hungry for more and not be satisfied with his book alone. Perhaps Ash could have included Nibley's characteristic insistence that he not be held responsible for "anything I wrote more than three years ago. For heaven's sake, I hope we are moving forward here."[4] Such comments led Nibley's former student David Rolph Seely to explain: "I have always assumed Nibley would be delighted for us to read his work critically, and statements such as the above should be taken as invitations to join the fray."[5] Hopefully, Of Faith and Reason encourages readers to become more interested in the overall conversation.

Ash has a talent for making difficult, academic subjects accessible and engaging to the average reader. His book traverses a lot of already-covered ground, but he hopes to bring many of these evidences out of obscurity and darkness to help readers better appreciate the valuable revelations of Joseph Smith.

FOOTNOTES

[1] See Blair Dee Hodges, "A New Book of Mormon Wordprint Analysis," LifeOnGoldPlates.com, 8 December 2008.

[2] In Ash's first book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One's Testimony In the Face of Criticism and Doubt he spends more time discussing the apologetic issues involved with the Book of Abraham. In my estimation, Shaken Faith is the better of the two books.

[3] For example, see Brent Lee Metcalfe, ed., New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology (Signature Books 1993) and Kevin Christensen's response, "Paradigms Crossed," FARMS Review 7:2, 144-218. Another interesting exchange is Douglas F. Salmon, "Parallelomania and the Study of Later-day Saint Scripture: Confirmation, Coincidence, or the Collective Unconscious," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 33:2, 129-156 and William J. Hamblin, "Joseph or Jung? A Response to Douglas Salmon," FARMS Review, 13:2, 87-107. Finally, an important addition to the conversation is Benjamin McGuire, "Parallelomania: Criticism of the Textual Parallels Theories," (unpublished), solomonspalding.com/SRP/parallels.htm.

[4] Hugh Nibley, "The Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham: A Response," Sunstone, December 1979, 49.

[5] David Rolph Seely, review of Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 3, by Hugh Nibley, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 5 (1993): 195. Footnotes 4 and 5 taken from Hamblin, "Joseph or Jung," FARMS Review, 13:2, 95.


Copyright 2009