Lds Perspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls

This book has eight articles on the DSS that were all but the first one written for a conference entitles "LDS Perspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls." The conference was hosted by BYU and held on 23 March 1996. Some of the articles are focused specifically on issues that pertain to the Latter-day Saints, but all articles are well-written, scholarly and well-documented. Together they provide a very nice overview of the DSS. All the authors have participated in the DSS research and are certainly experts in the field, Florentino Garcia Martinez being the most renowned of them. The introduction to the book also provides an overview of involvement and contributions of LDS scholars, F.A.R.M.S. and BYU in the ongoing research on DSS. Whether intentionally or not, the book as a unit debunks the myth often circulated among Latter-day Saints of the DSS community being a newly discovered special dispensation. The myth is a false claim that purports that the DSS community lived the Gospel and was similar to dispensations like Alma the Elder who broke off the people of King Noah (which is a story from the Book of Mormon) for example. There are certainly many things about the DSS community (which is believed to have lived at Qumran) that might resonate with Latter-day Saints. The organizational structure, the acceptance criteria and the common ownership of good among others, are certainly things that have clear parallels in the early history of the LDS Church. However, just because one finds parallels, one should not ignore discrepancies between the beliefs of the Qumran community and LDS beliefs. There are numerous examples that clearly illustrate that these two communities have very different beliefs. To name a few, the DSS clearly document that their writers believed in predestination, did not profess to love their enemies, did not care about going "among the wolves" to spread the Gospel, nor did they believed in the sanctity of marriage the way LDS folks believe. In summary it's an interesting book and definitely worth reading. I highly recommend it. For an interested reader, here is a list of articles and authors included in the book: 1. The Ancient People of Qumran: An Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls (Andrew C. Skinner) 2. The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls to Biblical Understanding (Donald W. Parry) 3. Is the Plan of Salvation Attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls? (Dana M. Pike) 4. Praise, Prayer, and Worship at Qumran (David Rolph Seely) 5. Messianic Hopes in the Qumran Writings (Florentino Garcia Martinez) 6. The Book of Mormon and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Stephen D. Ricks) 7. Putting the Pieces Together: DNA and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Scott R. Woodward) 8. The FARMS-BYU Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Database (Donald W. Parry, Steven Booras, E. Jan Wilson)

For the LDS student who is interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls, this is an exelent book. Donald Parry is one of the world's lead authorities on the scrolls and has done some first hand work on them. Dana Pike is one of the Church's great Hebrew scholars making them both reliable sources in this field. The book offers a perspective that is realistic and authoritative. It does not dive into the myths or try to make the relationship between the LDS Church and the Dead Sea Church something that it is not. I highly recommend this book.