Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 4: Alma

Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon #4

by Brant A. Gardner

Volume four of the six-volume Book of Mormon commentary, Second Witness.

Genres: Religion, History

845 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gardner's commentary continues with his usual insight and erudition. I will say that while I believe that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica, Gardner's commentary does not lend that quite as much strength as I suspected that it would. His connections to the Mesoamerican culture I find more speculative and coincidental than a lot of the work connecting the Book of Mormon to the Ancient Near East. Perhaps that just the nature of the current state of Mesoamerican studies vs. the current state of ANE studies (while I'm not an expert in either, I do know that ANE has a lot more runway due to its connection to the Bible, so we would expect there to be more to work with there than Mesoamerican studies). But any serious student of the Book of Mormon would still do well to read these commentaries.

[Christian Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a commentary on the Book of Mormon, this one outstrips them all. Without exaggeration, every other commentary set (especially the 4-vol McConkie/Millet set) is going to appear useless and superficial in comparison. Gardner uses everything at his disposal, from literary criticism and early manuscripts of the Book of Mormon to Mesoamerican cultural and archaeological findings to inform his commentary. It is not just trite fluff, devotional ramblings, or regurgitation of General Authority quotes (see the McConkie/Millet set to see what I'm talking about) but is hard hitting and thought provoking. Whether you are a true believer in the Mesoamerican model for Book of Mormon geography or even question the very historicity of the Book of Mormon, this commentary will enlighten and enliven your reading of the Book of Mormon in every aspect.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just barely started reading this one, but the very first thing I noticed was that the inside flap of the dust jacket has the blurb for Volume 6, not Volume 4. I'm really enjoying reading this series, but the editing work on these books is atrocious. There is at least one typo per page in the three books I've read so far -- some quite major (like a missing "not" in a sentence).

Otherwise, I highly recommend this commentary on the Book of Mormon. Mr. Gardner's insights (He's an expert on ancient Mesoamerican culture) are illuminating, to say the least. It breaths life into the Book of Mormon and explains many cultural and textual quirks.



Having now finished this latest volume, the only additional comment I have is: please hurry and get here fifth volume.