With more than 140 million copies in print and serving as the principal
proselytizing tool of one of the world's fastest-growing faiths, the
Book of Mormon is undoubtedly one of the most influential religious
texts produced in the Western world. This compact volume offers the only
concise, accessible introduction to this extraordinary work. Givens
examines the Book of Mormon primarily in terms of the claims that its
narrators make for its historical genesis, its purpose as a sacred text,
and its meaning for its audiences. The author traces five governing
themes -- revelation, Christ, Zion, scripture, and covenant -- and
analyzes the Book's central doctrines and teachings. Some of these
resonate with familiar nineteenth-century religious preoccupations;
others consist of radical and unexpected takes on topics from the Fall
of Man to Christ's mortal ministries and the meaning of atonement. This
introduction surveys the contested origins and production of a work held
by millions to be scripture and reviews the scholarly debates that
address questions of the record's historicity.