Ashley Orton 

Professor Green 

30 May 2012 

 There is Sunshine In My Soul Today: 

The Relationship of Divinity and the Literary Arts 

     Richard Miller’s essay “The Dark Night of the Soul” explores the pervasive belief among language arts teachers that the literate arts can influence and inspire students to live lives of higher meaning. His focus, however, is the growing doubt among these literary educators that their work is significantly less meaningful and influential than they would hope. I would agree that on the totem pole of influence among the greater population the literary arts ranks pretty low. Of course, I only have my own experience to speak from. I don’t have a habit of reading Times bestsellers and when I have made time for leisure reading, it is usually something that lacks deeper meaning and is easily forgettable. However; there is one exception. I read the Book of Mormon almost every day. In fact, I’ve missed a grand total of two weeks in the last two years and am well on my way to finishing it for the sixth time this summer. I know this book has changed my life for the better. It is of divine origin and it speaks of Christ and His sacrifice for me so that I can return to live with my Father in Heaven. It recounts the experiences of real people who lived in the Americas before, during and after Christ’s earthly ministry. It is divine and it is true and that is why it holds such life altering power within its pages. 

     The Book of Mormon was written by the Spirit of God through ancient prophets who loved the truth and did whatever they could to serve their God and spread the blessings of Christ’s church. When Miller analyzes McCandless’s experience from Into the Wild he notes that, “Who McCandless is and what becomes of him are, it turns out, intimately connected to the young man’s approach to reading -- both what he chose to read and how he chose to read it.” (Miller 429) McCandless put his trust in the authors of the books he loved which ended tragically for him because they didn’t write from experience. Conversely, the prophets of the Book of Mormon lived what they preached. They were inspired by God and so the messages they teach cannot lead one into danger. Of course, as Miller points out, how one reads is equally significant to what one reads. I didn’t always read the Book of Mormon with the enthusiasm that I do today. I am able to testify today of the divinity of the Book of Mormon because I have found out for myself by living the principles it teaches and testing its promises. 

      In other words, my exploration of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was more of an exploration of the results of obedience to the lessons taught within it. In the King James Version of the Bible the apostle Matthew says it best: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20) I had observed that those who read the Book of Mormon and abided by its principles were good people and I wanted to be more like them. But to truly know for myself if the Book of Mormon was indeed a true account, and not merely a nice book that would help me be a better person and learn important moral values, I needed a greater witness. Miller states that, “...McCandless stands as evidence that there continue to be real readers who invest the activities of reading and writing with great significance.” (Miller 428-429) His faith in the authors may have helped him to pursue a dream and structure an ideology that appealed to him and how he viewed the world, but ultimately his literary choices failed him because he didn’t take the time to gain a testimony of the validity of his sources. His faith was admirable, but ultimately it was dangerous. He took the works of the authors too seriously, while not taking the authors and the context of their writing seriously enough. Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon, issues a promise that ensures that the reader is taking the book seriously enough. “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moroni 10:4) In the words of Miller, you must invest in the activity of reading. This same idea is echoed in the Bible when James says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5) What is really beautiful about this idea is it’s simplicity. James says, if you really want to know something, ask God and He will tell you. Moroni echoes this pattern in his promise that if you take this book seriously, and ask God seriously, because you seriously want to know, He will tell you. So you can know for a surety that your future investment in being a believer is worthwhile. If the authors of the books McCandless had read had issued him Moroni’s promise his life wouldn't have ended the way that it did. 

     I did take the book seriously and I knew before I even got to Moroni’s promise at the end of the book that it was true. A tribute to the divinity of the Book of Mormon that speaks to me is how relatable the personal accounts transcribed are to all people. It makes sense to me; “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) and he wouldn’t give inspiration to His prophets that didn’t apply to everyone in one way or another. Personally, I love the story of Alma the Younger. His father was the prophet and spiritual leader of the land, Alma the Elder, whose job it was to teach the gospel to the people. Alma the Younger, along with his friends--who were the sons of King Mosiah, the political leader of the land--went about spreading lies about the church and leading a lot of the people to commit moral and spiritual sins. Their actions were deliberately wrong. God hears the pleas of the prophet Alma on behalf of his son and sends an angel to rebuke the sons of Mosiah and strike Alma the Younger dumb. He lays unconscious for two days and during that time Alma the Elder gathers the people to witness what he knows is his son’s miraculous conversion. Alma awakes from his “sleep” praising God and the mercy of Christ’s atoning sacrifice which was paid so that Alma could be forgiven of his sins. Alma the Younger completely forsakes his sins and goes on to succeed his father as the prophet. He worked tirelessly as a missionary of the gospel message and was blessed for his dedication. This story speaks powerfully to me because it shows how God does not withhold blessings from those who have truly repented of their sins, no matter what it was they did. I did a lot of things that I am not proud of, but I have worked hard to change and have committed to living my life in the service of my fellow men and my Heavenly Father. I know He loves me and wants nothing more but for me to find lasting and eternal happiness. I know that I am His daughter and have infinite worth. This knowledge helps me to do what is right, even when life is hard and I think I’d rather give up. Am I perfect? Of course not! Nobody is! God is well aware of that and that is why He has given us His son, Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could become perfected through Him and be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. 

      The “fruits” of the book are tangible and life-changing. Because of it, I understand who I am and my purpose on this earth. I may doubt at times, along with Miller, the significance of the written word and its potential to change lives. That is not to say that there are no inspired works of literary art other than the Book of Mormon. I believe that there is truth everywhere. But this the Book of Mormon isn’t like the ones taught in school, which were written by imperfect, if immensely talented, men and women. The Book of Mormon is wholly an inspired book and as such, the effects of an “invested” reading of it are wholly inspiring. 

Works Cited

Miller, Richard. “The Dark Night of the Soul.” Ways of Reading. 9th Edition. Eds. David

Bartholoma and Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 420-443.

The Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. Dallas, TX: Brown Books Publishing, 2004.