Scriptural Insights and Commentary: The Book of Mormon

by Taylor Halverson

Do you find yourself going through the motions rather than feasting on the words of the ancient prophets? Do you long to feel the peace and joy that earnest gospel study can bring? Find renewed vigor in your scripture study with Scriptural Insights and Commentary: The Book of Mormon, the second in a four-volume series designed to ignite your enthusiasm for reading the scriptures. Drawing on his years of study and scholarly research, Latter-day Saint religious scholar Dr. Taylor Halverson details the stunning gospel truths found in the Book of Mormon with rich detail regarding the cultural background, literary styles, and doctrinal themes provided by Book of Mormon prophets. With topics ranging from Nephi’s vision and his role as a scribe to the meaning of scriptural names and the powerful significance of the common phrase “it came to pass,” the discussion in this volume will both fascinate you and build your faith. Shore up your testimony of this sacred book as you discover anew the doctrinal truths of the Book of Mormon.

Genres: Nonfiction

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars based on the Goodreads scale ("it was ok"). Jess and I started reading this together in 2020 as a supplement to our study of the Book of Mormon that year. We only made it through a portion because we had other resources that took precedence. I decided this week that it was time to finish it or move it to the DNF pile and pushed through.

Halverson shares some good insights, but the book lacks some cohesion. After finishing and looking at the endnotes it turns out that most of the chapters are republished articles that he had written for LDSLiving, Deseret News, etc, and this made a lot of sense.

I've appreciated better the work that Halverson does in his weekly podcast from Scripture Central (formerly Book of Mormon Central), and would rather spend my Halverson time listening to a lecture than reading these republished articles. Maybe I was hoping for something slightly more scholarly?

Anyways, my 2 star rating does not reflect my feelings of objective quality of the book (that would probably be 3-3.5 stars), just a sense of how much I enjoyed and appreciated it.

Rating: G

[Brannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m very on the fence about this one. I enjoy the historical information shared and the way the Book of Mormon relates to the Old Testament in language and style. All of that was great.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I don’t feel it’s necessary or even advisable to try to historically or grammatically prove the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The author keeps doing this in chapters and it bothers me. The Spirit is all I need.

All that said it has some great ideas.

[Ryan Haueter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful commentary