Review of Grant Hardy, The Annotated Book of Mormon (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023). 912 pages; $37.95 (hardcover).

Abstract: Oxford University Press has published an annotated edition of the Book of Mormon. This represents a significant event and provides a useful study resource. At the same time, the author’s determination to follow the conclusions of mainstream biblical scholars inevitably generates tensions on issues where the Book of Mormon conflicts with those conclusions. The author also assures readers that the commentary follows “the plain meaning of the text,” which ought to acknowledge Joseph Smith’s foundational observation that different teachers of religion may understand the same passages very differently, depending on their framing context. In this review, I introduce the content and contributions of the volume, and in a future review I’ll address the possibilities for resolving conflicts.

The appearance of The Annotated Book of Mormon is a significant event, coming both from Oxford University Press and from Grant Hardy, whose earlier Understanding the Book of Mormon has been treated as a watershed event by many scholars.1 His earlier efforts of close reading and formatting2 bear fruit here in the clear and telling structure that he uses to introduce and present the Book of Mormon to a scholarly [Page 198]audience. For instance, rather than just providing a chapter listing, he provides a clear presentation of sources, structure, and primary authorship, dividing his book into four major sections:

* The Small Plates of Nephi (1 Nephi–Omni)

* Mormon’s Explanatory Comments (The Words of Mormon)

* Mormon’s Abridgement of the Large Plates of Nephi (Mosiah to Mormon 7)

* Moroni’s Additions to His Father’s Record (Mormon 8–Moroni 10)

The big-picture clarity this provides is very helpful, used as a conspicuous organizing principle rather than concealed in an essay. He provides useful book and chapter introductions to establish context and prepare the reader for what follows. Hardy also formats that text to enhance the reader’s experience. Though he uses a double column format, his paragraphing follows literary divisions to enhance readability, rather than just scriptural numbering and versification for ease of reference. He judiciously formats poetic passages, such as Nephi’s Psalm and the Isaiah quotations. He occasionally annotates and adds sidebars for particular chiastic passages but does not format Book of Mormon parallelistic structures to the extent that Donald Parry has done. Besides poetic formatting for Isaiah quotations and the Sermon at the Temple, Hardy uses bolding to highlight variations from the King James Version. He breaks out poetic passages by Book of Mormon authors at times, such as Lehi’s famous likening of Laman and Lemuel to valley and fountain as poetry. In later annotations for the people of Ammon (p. 574n14), Hardy’s annotations point readers back to Lehi’s hopes for Laman to become “steadfast and immovable” to show that Lehi’s frustrated hopes for his older sons could be fulfilled by later generations. This is nicely done, very much the kind of thing an annotated edition can and ought to do well.