***Correction: The use of Harold Bloom’s description of Joseph Smith as a “religious genius” in this video may mislead viewers into thinking Bloom was referring directly to the Book of Mormon. Instead, Bloom’s praise was for Joseph Smith’s theological ideas from the Nauvoo period. Bloom actually found the Book of Mormon to be tedious and admitted that he hadn’t seriously read it. However, the essence of the video’s claim is still valid. Over the years, many critics of the Book of Mormon have acknowledged its merits. For instance, Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe have described it as possessing “impressive literary, theological, psychological, and spiritual qualities,” and they remarked upon the “beauty and brilliance of [its] sermons, visions, and other imagery.” Also, it should be understood that the video isn’t claiming these or any specific individuals changed their minds concerning the merits of the Book of Mormon, but rather that critics generally have changed their perspective over the years.
Source: Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe, eds., “Editors’ Introduction,” in American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2002), ix.
For further information on the evolution of the critical reception of the Book of Mormon, see Daniel C. Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction: ‘In the Hope That Something Will Stick’: Changing Explanations for the Book of Mormon,” FARMS Review 16, no. 2 (2004): xi–xxxv; Book of Mormon Central, “Why is the Book of Mormon a Classic? (Ether 12:25),” KnoWhy 63 (March 26, 2016).***
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Some early critics of the Book of Mormon ridiculed its literary qualities. Over time, however, it’s become clear that the Book of Mormon is actually a remarkably complex and sophisticated text. This can be demonstrated on dozens of different levels, and when looked at together, its impressive literary features offer excellent evidence that Joseph Smith truly translated it by the gift and power of God.
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