Hugh Nibley was, without question, the foremost
apologist for Mormonism during the second half of the 20th
century. B.H. Roberts was almost certainly the greatest Mormon
apologist of the first half.
Some might ask why professor Nibley felt any need to "apologize" for
Mormonism. But, if they do, they misunderstand the word. Latter-day
Saints don't use the term apologetics very often, so they can be
excused for thinking it a trifle strange. But our Protestant and
Catholic fellow-Christians use it a great deal; it has a long and
honorable history, and it's solidly useful. As the unabridged
Webster's dictionary puts it, apologetics is simply "systematic
argumentative tactics or discourse in defense (as of a doctrine, a
historical character, or particular actions)."
In a very real sense, anyone arguing for or against any position is
engaged in apologetics, especially when such a person is defending a
viewpoint against criticism.That means most of us do
"apologetics" pretty frequently, without knowing that we're doing
it — much the way Moliere's Monsieur Jourdain was delighted to find out
from his philosophy tutor that, completely unaware of it, he had been
speaking prose all his life.Evolutionists defend their theories
against creationists; liberals defend their positions against
conservatives; carnivores defend their views against vegetarians;
atheists defend their atheism against the arguments of theists. (Fans
of the Yankees have no defense.)
But the term apologetics is most often reserved particularly for
religious issues, and it was on such questions that Hugh Nibley
distinguished himself. He did so in a remarkably large body of
writing — his collected works, published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute
for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University, number almost 20 volumes at this point — and with remarkable learning, insight and
wit. Happily too, although he died very nearly five years ago, more
volumes are on their way, including his final work, titled "One
Eternal Round," on the Book of Abraham.
Why the need to defend? Attacks on the claims and character of Joseph
Smith and on the restored gospel go back to, and beyond, the very
beginning of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Abner
Cole, for instance, published one of the first printed criticisms of
Mormonism in his Palmyra Reflector in September 1829 under the
pseudonym of "Obadiah Dogberry, Esq." (The Book of Mormon wouldn't
actually appear, and the church wouldn't actually be organized for
roughly another seven months.) Subsequently, Cole stole the typeset at
E.B. Grandin's press, where the Book of Mormon was being printed, and
published the first few chapters of "Jo Smith's Gold Bible," as he
called it. When Joseph Smith confronted him to point out that the text
was protected by copyright, Cole grew angry and sought a fight. Joseph
refused, but, plainly still hostile, Cole began shortly thereafter to
publish a satire of the Book of Mormon, to which he gave the odd name
"The Book of Pukei."
In February 1831, the prominent Scots-American preacher Alexander
Campbell published an attack on Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon titled "Delusions." By 1834, the first anti-Mormon book, Eber D.
Howe's "Mormonism Unvailed" [sic], came from the press. These two items
still stand in many ways as the spiritual and intellectual ancestors of
virtually every anti-Mormon publication for the past 176
years — originality hasn't been a notable quality in such materials — and a
swollen, turbid river of anti-Mormon books, pamphlets, films,
newsletters, Web sites, seminars, lectures, sermons, Sunday school
curricula, radio broadcasts, tabloids and television programs has
flowed ever since.
"Though argument does not create conviction," the English theologian
and philosopher Austin Farrer wrote, praising the great Christian
apologist, scholar, and writer C.S. Lewis, "lack of it destroys
belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one
shows that ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument
does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may
flourish."
Hence the need for defense. Hugh Nibley would have celebrated his
hundredth birthday on March 27. His legacy, however, continues, in his
writings and in the many people whose lives he influenced — including a
sizable contingent of scholars who seek to continue in the path he
pioneered.
E-mail: daniel_peterson@byu.eduA native of California, Daniel Peterson served a mission for the LDS
Church in German-speaking Switzerland in the early 1970s, then earned a
bachelor's degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University
and, after several years spent in the Middle East, a doctorate in
Arabic and Persian from UCLA. He is a professor of Islamic studies and
Arabic at BYU where he also serves as editor in chief of the Middle
Eastern Texts Initiative and as director of outreach for the Neal A.
Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.
Author of several books, including a biography of Muhammad, and
numerous articles on both Islamic and LDS subjects, he and his wife,
Deborah, are the parents of three sons.