New Maxwell Institute book series encourages theological study of LDS scripture
March 22, 2016 12:00 AM
The Maxwell Institute
Eight years ago a group of young Latter-day Saint scholars began organizing collaborative in-depth studies of Latter-day Saint scripture. They wanted to bring their academic interests to bear on passages like Alma 32 and 2 Nephi 26–27. Like casting seeds in a field, the Mormon Theology Seminar planned to publish their results. Not only would their work provide new insights into particular scriptures, they also would model fruitful ways for others to get more out of their scripture study. The fruit they distribute would also contain seeds others can plant.In 2013, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies partnered with the Mormon Theology Seminar to help increase the harvest. Two more seminars have been held since then, and now we’re pleased to announce a new series of books:The Proceedings of the Mormon Theology Seminar series displays, in writing, theology as a Mormon practice. This mode of doing theology is different from weighing history, deciding doctrine, or inspiring devotion. Theology speculates. It experiments with questions and advances hypotheses. It tests new angles and pulls loose threads. It reads old texts in careful and creative ways. We publish these experiments upon the word to foster greater theological engagement with basic Mormon texts.The first book in the series, An Experiment on the Word: Reading Alma 32, edited by Adam S. Miller, was re-published in 2014.A new edition of the next title is available today, Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: 2 Nephi 26–27, edited by Joseph M. Spencer and Jenny Webb. Each of these were previously published by Salt Press and have been copy edited for their second editions.The next book—never before published—is Apocalypse: Reading Revelation 21–22, edited by Julie M. Smith. It will be available later this summer, with more titles to come.Each book will be available in paperback and digital editions.To subscribe, go to mi.byu.edu/subscribe.
