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Title: The Truth, the Way, the Life: An Elementary Treatise on Theology: The Masterwork of B.H. Roberts by Stan Larson, B. H. Roberts, Sterling M. McMurrin ISBN: 1-56085-077-9 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: April, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)
Rating: 4
Summary: This is the readable version of the long-lost book.
Comment: This is one of two versions of Elder B. H. Roberts' masterwork of theology. The other edition being published by Brigham Young University Studies. I have both, so I will be comparing and contrasting them later in the review.
The story behind TWL is a little complex. Elder Roberts (1857-1933) was a prolific writer, theologian, thinker and a scrapper. Near the end of his life he produced a manuscript called "The Truth, The Way, The Life," which was to be a compact summation and extension of his theological thought. The manuscript was reviewed by a blue-ribbon committee, but was never published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints primarily for his advocacy of "pre-Adamites," and also speculation about God's progression in knowledge among other things. In the late 1960's, President Hugh B. Brown photocopied the manuscript and gave it to one of his grandsons, Edwin B. Firmage, with the instruction to preserve the book. Mr. Firmage donated the manuscript copy to the University of Utah, and then curator stand Larson decided to publish the book.
The copyright of the book, along with the three manuscripts of the book were owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so it was thought that they could publish a joint version, but the talks broke down, so Larson published with Smith Research Associates, and BYU Studies published their own version, with photo-static reprints of the three manuscripts.
The book itself follows the outline set by the title: Truth, Way, Life. Elder Roberts begins with a dissertation on the truth, and then goes into cosmology, with then-current (1925) science. He relied heavily on Spencer's "First Principles" for much of his metaphysics. He then discusses the nature of humanity, the Intelligences described in Latter-day Saint theology. He has a section that surveys ancient religions, with special emphasis on the Hebrew Religion. He concluded the first section with a discussion of creation.
The second section focuses on the Way. It covers the creation of Man, the fall, and then the history of the earth from Adam to Christ. The second half of the second section is a lengthy elaboration of Christ's atonement. This is probably the best part of the whole book; since the Atonement is the heart of Christian doctrine.
The Life is the third part of the book., and this section focuses on the "Sermon on the Mount," and the Christian's character. It concludes with a chapter on celestial, or eternal marriage, which is peculiar to the Church of Jesus Christ.
This book is really a condensed version of Elder Robert's "Seventies Course in Theology," and frankly I prefer the "Seventies Course in theology" to this one-volume version simply because TWL lacks the depth and detail that "Seventies Course in Theology" has. Roberts covered more ground and looked into the implication of things Mormon better than he did in the TWL. The only advantage TWL has is that it is more streamlined, focused, and refined in many areas.
Looking over the book, I really wish that Elder Roberts has acquiesced on the Pre-Adamites, and Progressing God issues. Except for these one or two things (in addition to the outdated science and metaphysics), it is a good book, and the chapters on the Atonement (which are word for word from the "Seventies Course in Theology") are superb. In fact, I think that the controversial chapters-and the controversy itself-- have eclipsed what was good with the manuscript.
One thing that Elder Roberts missed was elucidation upon "Eternalism." He devoted a chapter to Eternalism in his "Seventies Course in theology," be he overlooked this rater fascinating concept in this book. This striking doctrine is unique to the theology of the Saints and deserves a place in this book.
Regarding the two editions, the Larson edition is, bar far, the more readable version of the two, and follows closer to the pattern Elder Roberts used in his "Seventies Course in Theology." Moreover, it is in soft back, so the book is cheaper. This edition has commentary by Leonard Arrington and Sterling McMurrin, two staunch Mormon intellectuals, and fans of Elder Robert's work. I would recommend this edition to anyone with a passing curiosity of the book, the subject or the man B. H. Roberts.
However, the BYU Studies version has the better commentary, with articles written by Truman Madsen, David Paulsen, Andrew Skinner, and James Allen. Plus, this edition has the better index and helps at the end of the book, with a summery of Joseph Fielding Smith's arguments against evolution and pre-Adamites. Plus, this edition has an extension to chapter 31, which chapter was read to the Quorum of the Twelve, which rounds out Roberts arguments for pre-Adamites. This edition is less readable, with many strikeouts and spelling corrections. These are absolutely unnecessary for the layman and get in the way of getting Robert's ideas. For the very curious, I recommend the BYU Studies edition.
This is a good book in certain areas, but both editions suffer from having too much useless information. I would suggest a streamlined, layman version that combines the best of both editions. It would have the Larsen edition's format, which follows the "Seventies Course in Theology" with the chapter outlines and introductions, and I would not have any strikeouts in the text, and use the Larson diagrams. Just edit it as you would a normal book. I would use the BYU Edition's chapter summery in the table of contents, use its better index, scripture citations, and not worry about the minor variant readings. Follow the Larsen's edition of having "A Modification of the Orthodox View" back in controversial Chapter 31, and integrate the variant introduction the BYU Edition has in the appendix into one introduction. Also have the additional material in the BYU Edition that was appended to Chapter 31 (p. 318-322) put in as an appendix to that chapter. I would also silently update the astronomical information to bring it in line with the twenty-first century.
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