A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

by Lynn A. Rosenvall (editor), David L. Rosenvall (editor)

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared a person would get nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon than by any other book. While considering ways of making the precepts of this divine book more readily available to the reader, a distinguishing format was devised to isolate the doctrinal precepts and at the same time render this rather complex volume of scripture more comprehensible for reading and pondering. Not one word, letter or even a punctuation mark of the actual text has been deleted or altered in the process. Only the formatting has been enhanced by adding wider margins for notes, two type sizes, and spaces between textual subdivisions. These contextual enhancements are designed to help the reader more readily visualize the context, speaker and doctrine of the Book of Mormon narrative.
This edition of the Book of Mormon divides the text into 214 events or episodes. An event-based approach provides an alternate way to read the scripture text without the obvious

Genres: Religion, Church, Nonfiction

718 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Travis Standley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this format to complete one of my most meaningful journeys through The Book of Mormon to date. The wide margins in each side of each page, the explanatory notes on who is speaking and the organization by event enhanced the experience. This acted as a study journal that I freely marked, cross referenced, posted other materials and quotations, wrote questions and recorded spiritual insights. The spirit of the Lord dwells in every page of The Book of Mormon.

4/25/24:
Another great journey through The Book of Mormon. I cannot deny the spirit in the book. It is scripture preserved and brought forth in our time. It brings us to Christ. I draw strength from its pages more than any other book.

[Heidi Moffatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really love the layout. It makes it so much easier to read and understand.

[Better Book Bureau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the organization of this book very helpful. I didn’t always agree with the exact formatting, labels, etc., but I can tell this was a a labor of love. I also appreciated the wider margins and spaces where I could write notes. There are a few blank pages for notes at the very end, which was a good place to write my testimony. I also wrote a summary of each individual book within the Book of Mormon on the title pages of the books. The font was a little small, so if you have a hard time with small font, you may need a larger print edition or a magnifying glass.

[Carlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this format! I’ve always struggled with following who’s talking, or who’s quoting who, and this makes that SO much easier. Basically a screen play for the BOM without changing ANY of the words/wording. Connecting the dots. First time I can say that I’ve read the BOM and knew what was going on 100% of the time.

[Tori Kinard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is organized by events, and tells you who is narrating or speaking. I found it so much more engaging and easy to read and understand this way!

[Jodi Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this format for studying the BoM! It opened my eyes to many points I’ve never noticed before and helped me read more every day. I love the paragraph and chapter formatting. This version is a game changer.

[Kenny Ahlstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

How fitting that my final and 50th book of 2020 is the Book of Mormon. I loved this edition because it made the text clearer and easier to follow to know who was speaking and where each event was taking place. The wide margins allowed for many notes. Couldn’t recommend this version more!

The Book of Mormon was one of the few constants in my life during 2020. In a year of so much change, this truly was at my side through it all. I read through a pandemic, a break-up, graduating BYU and transiting to the U, my finals days at the MTC, and a lot of days of general hopelessness and fear.

I don’t know exactly what it means to say that The Book of Mormon is “true.” I don’t know that every event described in its pages happened exactly as reported. But I do know that my days are better when I read The Book of Mormon when compared to the days that I do not. My mind is clearer on these days; there is more hope and light in my life. I like to think of myself as a reader - And no other book gives me the reassurance and hope that the Book of Mormon provides. I don’t even feel this way when I read Harry Potter!

I am different and better because of this book. I’m so grateful for its teaching about Christ, the faith-filled stories, and applications it holds for my life today. It makes no sense that a book written 600 years before the birth of Christ centered on a family in Jerusalem would have so much direct influence and impact of my life today in the 2020s. And yet it does.

Read this book! For your life is better because of it.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I give The Book of Mormon in general 5 stars, because it has had a bigger impact on my life than any other book that has ever existed.

But this 5-star rating is for David and Lynn Rosenvall's edition of the seminal scripture. This father and son team has arranged The Book of Mormon according to speaker and event, as well as giving dates and locations in the wide (and just waiting for personal notes!) margins. These organizational methods are used on top of (not in place of) the usual chapters and verses, and make all the difference in staying oriented during reading.

Let's not kid ourselves -- The Book of Mormon jumps all over the place as Mormon abridges records, throws other small books and letters in in toto, makes comments about what he is editing, and then goes back and adds something else from hundreds of years earlier. If he had had more time and more plates, maybe he would have gone back and revised for sake of clarity, but as it is, it takes a lot of concentration to keep it all straight! Anyway, the Rosenvall's structure, without changing a single word or ordering, has made the whole thing so much easier to follow. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that it lacks the official LDS footnotes, I might make this my go-to version of the BoM. As is, I will use it again in the future when I'm reading for overall storyline and narrative.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the format of this Book of Mormon! This is definitely my favorite way to read scriptures. The margins are extra-large, which is handy for people who like to take notes directly on the pages of their books. Noted in the left-hand margin is the name of the person whose point-of-view/dialogue the verse is in. Noted in the right-hand margin is the setting (time and place) of the verse. If you forget where you are, you only have to look back at the last setting in the margin to get your bearings again.

This is the Book of Mormon I used for President Nelson's 90-day Book of Mormon challenge. I would love to see the other standard works done this way, too. My only complaint is that the cover is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked reading the Book of Mormon in this format. It contained all of the the text but arranged it by event rather than the current traditional organization by chapter and verse. Emphasis is placed on narrator, speakers, and quotations so that it’s very clear whose speaking. It also lists the dates and places so that information is always present as you’re reading. Each page contains a heading with the event clearly spelled out, with the date and place and the text that fall under that heading. If someone quotes the Lord or an ancient prophet it’s indented and labeled according to the person they are quoting. It’s made me look at the scriptures from this perspective and made me pay attention more when I read the scriptures in the traditional format.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great format to read the Book of Mormon in! It largely ignores the existing chapter breaks and instead separates the text by subject, and also includes the date and location in the margin, and, very helpfully, breaks up and identifies the text by who is speaking. I really enjoyed using this for my Book of Mormon reading this year.

[Nicole Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This version of the Book of Mormon is ideal if you want to take it in very fast (as in a raging challenge or something). It has a structure that means itself to being able to process all the people and places and what's happening even during a fast read.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this format. Even though I’ve read the Book of Mormon multiple times, I didn’t realize how often Mormon is writing. This edition helped me understand timelines and locations more than I have before. Highly recommend. Will be getting other scriptures written in this format.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this Book of Mormon is organized. It’s been very helpful! This is my 4th time completing the Book of Mormon since October 2020, each time using a different format. This might be my favorite.

[Marti Johnsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed the way I read, understand and study the Book of Mormon. Cannot recommend enough!

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a game-changer for me. I absolutely loved this format for the Book of Mormon. It was so great to always know who was speaking. I picked up on things that I never have before. Fantastic!

[Kristi Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved reading The Book of Mormon from this approach. I would recommend this to everyone I know.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this format!

[Mary Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really helpful edition, have read many many times but loved the side bars being able to see who was speaking, separation by events instead of chapters, very helpful

[Steve Congdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely organized and enlightening

[Tenille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how this was divided up by topic, and the side notes of who was speaking and where it was! This made more sense to me!

[Stephanie Leishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! I love this book!

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Book of Mormon. It was interesting and helpful to read it in this format.

[Jessica Plowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the format of this one. I loved having it broken up so I knew who was speaking. Absolutely loved it

[Jenica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this was organized. Its chapters are based on what is happening, then the paragraphs are written by who is speaking. There is also the year/date and location in the margins.

[Jason Comely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This New Approach format makes it clear who is speaking and emphasizes events and locations. I kind of wish a date or timeline was prominently displayed on each event, but that is nitpicking. This is a beautiful version of the Book of Mormon and I treasure it.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Rosenvalls' organization of the Book of Mormon by speaker and event was incredibly helpful in understanding that book of sacred scripture, their similar treatment for Genesis, Moses, and Abraham was less effective. A New Approach to Studying the Covenants of Our Fathers felt like an attempt to capitalize on what worked well and made money in their previous volume, rather than growing organically out of and adding true value to these books.

In most instances in the records of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses the speaker is fairly obvious, and when this is not the case the Rosenvalls' designation of "narrator" doesn't do much to add to my understanding. Events in these scriptures are also straight-forward and move in a logical order (unlike the complex inter-woven narratives of the BoM). The main thing it does is put the Pearl of Great Price and Old Testament writings together in one chronology (and even this is so simple, as it just goes Abraham, Genesis, Moses, the end).

There is nothing wrong with A New Approach to Studying the Covenants of Our Fathers. It just isn't necessary. 3.5 stars.

[Nancy]

718 pages

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the format of this Book of Mormon for my study. Many things became much more clear for me and easier to follow. Every word is the same as in the original scripture, but it is organized by events and clearly distinguishes who is speaking along with a timeline.