Abstract
Augustine (354–430) is considered to be the first Christian scholar to refer to the Creation’s witness of God as the Book of Nature. For centuries, in conjunction with scripture, the Book of Nature was considered in Christianity to be a second witness of God. These two witnesses were also stressed in Judaism, beginning with the Torah’s account of the Creation. The Book of Nature was prominent in Islam as the faith emerged in the 7th century. However, by the 16th century reliance on the Book of Nature began to wane for all these traditions as allegorical interpretation of the natural world gave way to scriptural literalism, partially in response to emerging scientific advances. The appearance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a self-identified restoration theology in the early nineteenth century should arguably reopen and clarify the Book of Nature in the faith. However, contemporary Latter-day Saint hermeneutics have limited the Creation’s status in the faith’s ontology. The Latter-day Saint theological ideal, supported by the scriptural canon of the faith, counters contemporary neglect, inviting greater attention to and respect for the Book of Nature among the Latter-day Saint community.
Highlights
Beginning from the faith’s founding in 1830, Latter-day Saints have viewed their faith as a restoration of correct doctrine and practices distorted over centuries of deliberate as well as good-intentioned but unknowing error
Latter-day Saint restoration doctrine pertaining to the natural world should be prominent in the faith’s ontology, as the emphasis the natural world has received throughout the history of all Abrahamic faith traditions has been significant
While Reformation leaders believed that specific tenets such as the atonement of Christ or the triune Godhead could not confidently be inferred from the Book of Nature, they did accept that the complexity of the natural world could be viewed as a testament of intelligent design undertaken by an omnipotent Creator
Summary
Beginning from the faith’s founding in 1830, Latter-day Saints have viewed their faith as a restoration of correct doctrine and practices distorted over centuries of deliberate as well as good-intentioned but unknowing error. A review of the Latter-day Saint canon reveals extensive focus on the Book of Nature. In what manner the Book of Nature should be read by adherents has received comparatively limited emphasis in contemporary Latter-day. Opportunities for better alignment between formal theology and application of the Book of Nature are apparent. As they are clarified and perhaps expanded they could be considered to be one manifestation of an ongoing restoration as understood in the Latter-day Saint lexicon. Islam will be presented first, followed by an approach for interpreting the Book of Nature through the lens of the Latter-day Saint canon. The use of the Book of Nature in contemporary Latter-day Saint culture is reviewed
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