Mormon Hermeneutics

“Jeffrey Krohn’s critical and well-researched analysis of how hermeneutical principles are actually used in interpreting the Bible provides excellent insight into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the LDS claims the Bible as authority, it also sees the biblical text as corrupted. But as revelation is ongoing, what really matters is an experience or word for today. Since this is very postmodern, this study is also useful in considering a philosophy of words and culture.”


—Steve Hardy, International Council of Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE)





“Despite the self-presentation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) since its inception as a fairly monolithic institution, there is a genuine diversity of beliefs (as with any religious tradition). In Mormon Hermeneutics, Jeffrey Krohn highlights one particular area of LDS diversity, namely the variety of approaches to reading and interpreting the Bible, and he offers readers a helpful organization and analysis of what individual LDSs do with one of their scriptures.”


—John Anthony Dunne, Bethel Seminary





“An impressive piece of scholarship. It serves the double purpose of an introduction to Mormon thought as well as a critique of its interpretive practices. When an irenic disposition combines with a sharpness of insight and clarity of expression, something good is bound to happen. I and many others with me will find ourselves much indebted to Jeffrey Krohn not only for elucidating Mormon interpretive practices but also for teaching us many a useful hermeneutical lesson along the way.”


—Sven Soderlund, Regent College, emeritus





“A number of years ago, I was surprised to learn that in the curriculum of the largest university department of religious studies in the world, at the Brigham Young University of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not a single class in hermeneutics or principles of interpretation was ever taught. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Mormons have no systems of interpretation, and Krohn enlightens us through his creative categorizations and extensive illustrations. A one-of-a-kind study delving into an important topic not covered in book-length fashion anywhere else.”


—Craig L. Blomberg, Denver Seminary, emeritus





“Hans-Georg Gadamer meets the Book of Mormon! Jeffrey Krohn utilizes the framework of critical realism and the insights of modern philosophical hermeneutics in conducting an insightful analysis of five characteristic but overlapping ways in which the LDSs ‘use’ (i.e., reinterpret) the Bible, citing numerous textual examples to support his critique. He also helpfully discusses the foundational interpretive assumptions and ‘systemic parameters’ that guide LDS engagement with biblical texts.”


—Richard Schultz, Wheaton College





“Krohn gives a masterful analysis of hermeneutical approaches in the literature of the LDS from its founder, Joseph Smith, through to modern scholars within the church. . . . Contrary to those who defend the LDS’s use of the Bible as legitimate applications of modern hermeneutics, Krohn reveals its deficiency with specific examples.”


—Daniel S. Steffen, Dallas Theological Seminary





“Anyone who has engaged in serious conversation with a Mormon friend or colleague may well have struggled to understand how a group that claims devout loyalty to Scripture can hold a range of beliefs that seem quite at variance with historic Christianity. This rigorous but fair-minded and accessible analysis of Mormon hermeneutics opens a much-needed window onto an interpretive approach that for too long has remained obscure. I know of no other book like it. It deserves a wide reading.”


—Steven M. Bryan, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School