Item Detail
-
31957
-
3
-
4
-
English
-
Internal Evidence of Widespread Literacy in the Book of Mormon
-
Religious Educator : Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
-
2009
-
10
-
3
-
Provo, UT
-
BYU ScholarsArchive
-
59-74
-
"Some Latter-day Saint scholars argue that literacy in the Book of Mormon was limited to elite classes and that the Book of Mormon people as a whole functioned as an oral society. In addition, for years Mesoamerican scholars held that the ancient Mayans (a civilization concurrent with that of the Book of Mormon) did not even have a written language before the Classic period (about AD 300–900). The lack of evidence of Mayan writing during the Preclassic period (600 BC–AD 200, which corresponds to Book of Mormon dates) may have influenced some Latter-day Saint scholars’ opinions about the extent of literacy during that era. An examination of the Book of Mormon, however, shows evidence that the ability to read may have been more widespread than sometimes perceived and that it transcended class distinctions. As we read the Book of Mormon and find multiple commands to search the scriptures, we see clear evidence of the ability to read, write, and keep records among the Book of Mormon people, common and privileged alike." [Author]