Grant Hardy

Hardy is not the smoothest lecturer you'll see in the Great Courses, but he is immensely likable and shows a deep knowledge and cultural understanding that allows him to present these sacred texts in a highly informative and open manner, looking for common threads and things we can learn from each of them. A Mormon himself, he has a B.A. in Ancient Greek and a Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature. His descriptions of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism in particular, are very informative, and throughout the course, the lectures are well-organized and coherent. In fact, all the sacred texts are well described, including providing some sense of the core Hindu sacred texts (there are so many texts in the entire Hindu canon.) His treatment of the Quran is also well done. Some may think he devotes too little time to the Christian Bible (there are separate lectures on the Hebrew Bible), and certainly more could have been said, but there are so many other Great Courses that cover the New Testament in great depth. Toward the end of the course, Professor Hardy looks at the US Constitution as a sacred text, and this very interesting lecture helps him draw together various ways of identifying and defining sacred texts. Within the course of these 36 lectures, he succeeds in covering an immense amount of material in a clear manner, and he often provides recommendations for further reading, both texts and websites. Hardy, for instance, introduced me to Robert Alter's translations of the Hebrew Bible. In the concluding episode, he makes the case for why we should study various religions, even if we have a strong belief in our own religion (or no religion) and recommends starting points for most of the sacred writings covered in this courses. This episode could almost stand by itself for those who don't have a lot of time--but if you have time to actually start exploring these texts, you should have time for the 18 or so hours needed to listen to Dr. Hardy's lectures. Highly, highly recommended.… (more)

I’ve been reading and collecting the Book of Mormon my entire life in one form or another, from the illustrated “Book of Mormon for Beginning Readers” (or whatever it was called in the 1970s) to the official blue copy I handed out as a missionary, to Royal Skousen’s “Earliest Text.” I’ve also collected books written about the Book of Mormon, including much of Skousen’s Critical Text Project. I’ve appreciated being able to learn about the book and read it in these various formats particularly because I don’t usually like reading the same book more than once. This book edited by Grant Hardy gives a fresh new way to read it again, taking the official 2013 text and reformatting it to make for easier reading as well as to more easily identify various aspects, and also adding footnotes and other markers to point out changes gleaned from Skousen’s work, internal consistencies, and other interesting tidbits.

The book begins with the introduction from the 1981 edition “with minor modifications in 2013 (and the substitution of people for men in the third and next-to-last paragraphs),” (page vii) and then has the usual testimonies of three and eight witnesses, but then it also has the testimony of Emma Smith, taken from an interview by Joseph Smith III in 1879. In this, she mentions that Joseph did not have any manuscripts or books, what the plates felt like, that he did it “sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the [seer] stone in it,” (page ix) and that she did not believe her husband capable of composing it by himself.

This is followed by the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon, as you would find in a regular edition, although the Brief Explanation has an explanatory phrase inserted about the Plates of Ether. Then there is a Brief History of the Text, which is used as the editor’s introduction. In this, Hardy recounts the translation, printing, and subsequent editing and printing of the second edition.

He explains the work of Royal Skousen (“a professor of linguistics and English language at Brigham Young University, is the central figure in the academic analysis of the Book of Mormon text, including its origins, transmission, variants, and grammar”). He then describes what he has done in the book. “The footnotes here highlight instances in which earlier readings of the original and printer’s manuscripts may be more accurate, clearer, or more felicitous…. The notes here, however, are simplified, dispensing with Skousen’s indications of variants with a source, original and corrected readings in the manuscripts, spelling anomalies, and types of manuscript changes.” The original chapter divisions are indicated (“since these were apparently on the gold plates and thus were intended by ancient authors”), but the modern chapter and verse indicators are still included as well (page xvi).

His introduction ends with a statement that I believe sums up the purpose of the entire work: “The narrative complexity and coherence of the Book of Mormon — highlighted in this edition — offer some of the strongest evidences of its historicity and miraculous translation. As we learn to read the sacred text as carefully as possible, with detailed attention to language, structure, and historical context, its message of salvation through Jesus Christ will become more compelling and its lessons for life more clear” (page xvii). There is also a note that his royalties will be donated to the Humanitarian Aid Fund.

As examples of helpful explanations given in footnotes, footnote ‘a’ on the title page says, “Joseph Smith in 1838 said that the title page of the Book of Mormon is ‘not by any means a modern composition, either of mine, or of any other man who has lived or does live in this generation.’ For the 1840 edition, he added the name Moroni below the last line of the text as an indication of the original author, though the name was deleted in 1879.” Footnote ‘c’ says, “On the 1830 title page, Joseph Smith was identified as ‘author and proprietor’ in order to comply with copyright regulations. The preface to that same edition included Joseph’s assertion that he had translated ‘by the gift and power of God’ and that ‘the plates of which hath been spoken, were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario county, New York.’ The inscription ‘Translated by Joseph Smith, Junior’ has been on the title page of every edition since 1837” (page 1).

There is a lot of information packed into a typical page, and it is a little confusing at first. The section called “Using the Study Edition” will definitely come in handy until the reader becomes thoroughly familiar with the conventions used. It is at least much easier to decode than Skousen’s “Critical Text” volumes.

There are woodcuts by Brian Kershisnik at the beginning of each book, representing something from it. I particularly liked the one for Alma, with a seedling representing the lecture on faith growing from a seed. Third Nephi has two hands taking the resurrected Christ’s hand, showing the nail marks, while First Nephi has the Liahona.

At the back of the volume there is a collection of very helpful maps and charts, such as “Record Keepers in the Book of Mormon,” “Key Families in the Book of Mormon,” “Time Line of Nephite History,” and “Chronology of the Translation.” There are five pages of “Joseph Smith’s Statements on the Book of Mormon” followed by three and a half pages of “Stories of the Translation.” These provide insights into how Joseph Smith felt about the book, and how it was translated, some well known, and others not as much.

There is a section titled “General Notes” that talks about apparent anachronisms, the consistent internal chronology and coherence of the text, demographics, geography, language, the translation, and witnesses. These notes are very interesting, with the latest scholarship, as well as faith-promoting commentary: “This sacred record bears testimony of Jesus Christ from beginning to end, with an invitation to come unto Him and to see his Hand at work throughout history as He answers prayers, keeps covenants, and prepares a people for his coming” (page 623). A list of good books for further reading is also provided, with authors such as Brant Gardner, Terryl Givens, John Sorenson, and John Welch, among many others.

A section on “Literary Parallelism” is over eight pages long. It compares different types of parallelisms in the Bible with examples found in the Book of Mormon. “The writings of the prophets are much easier to understand when the English renditions of poetic passages are arranged so that they reflect the underlying poetic structure. Indeed, most modern translations of the Bible do this. It is easier to follow the prophets’ thoughts and arguments if we know where to expect repetition and where to look for new ideas. In this edition of the Book of Mormon, the lengthy excerpts from Isaiah that appear in 1 and 2 Nephi are presented in poetic form, but there are other sections of the Book of Mormon that also exhibit Hebrew-style parallelism, and these have similarly been arranged into lines and stanzas. While there are still many uncertainties about the Nephite language, reformed Egyptian (Mormon 9.32), and the nature of the translation, it is not surprising that when the Book of Mormon prophets wished to give particular emphasis to their message, they often employed the techniques of Hebrew poetry. In fact, characteristic biblical patterns of parallelism can be illustrated with examples from the Book of Mormon” (pages 625-626).

There is a helpful “Index of Names” based on the index in the 1981 Book of Mormon edition, with some differences, including variant spellings from the manuscripts. Finally, the “Reference Guide to the Book of Mormon” from the Doubleday edition is included, which also has some additions.

I have been enjoying reading this edition of the Book of Mormon. It gathers together many different resources to help bring out new insights, as well as pointing to things that are in the standard edition that may have been overlooked before. It has given me new appreciation for the internal consistency of the Book of Mormon, as well as a better understanding of its message. For someone who has read it many times already, it helps in seeing it with fresh eyes again.… (more)

An absolute gem.

Professor Grant Hardy masterfully covers philosophy and religion from ancient India to the shores of Japan and everything in between. The course navigates through thousands of years of thought that weary travelers spread through the Silk Roads.

I have listened to other audiobooks that mention Eastern philosophy but this course was on another level. Each lecture is about 45 minutes long and Professor Hardy explains the intricacies of Buddhism, Daosim, and Legalism; he covers Hinduism and the ancient texts the Vedas and the Upanishads; we're introduced to Confucius and Laozi and we meet Sima Qian and Ban Zhao -- great Chinese thinkers and historians, respectively -- and Hardy walks us through all of this material marvelously.

I began to read The Analects by Confucius and plan on picking up other works mentioned in this course because of how much I enjoyed it. I also plan on reading more deeply about Buddhism and look forward to reading the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore. I will continue to read on Eastern intellect before heading into Western thought. I like it here.… (more)

Excellent presentation by an instructor with a really strong command of his subject and a good stage presence. A bit difficult to follow because of all the individuals involved, almost all of them unfamiliar to Westerners, but that goes with the territory and there's a good PDF outline available (over 160pp) which could help on a worthwhile rewatch.

My one criticism – and hence 4**** rather than 5***** – is the instructor's habit of rolling his eyes skeptically when he refers to anything like miraculous appearances, levitations, and the like. I wonder if he would be similarly disrespectful in teaching Christian scriptures with their stories about walking on water.… (more)