The much-anticipated second volume in the Book of Mormon Sleuth series by C. B. (Carl) Andersen has finally arrived. Some of you will recall my enthusiasm for the first volume in the series, titled simply Book of Mormon Sleuth. In that volume, we met the Andrews family, a typical Utah Mormon family, engaging in a quest for "buried treasure" -- buried, that is, in a copy of the Book of Mormon owned by an ancestor. In this volume, Andersen takes a different approach, but continues his quest for ways to make studying the Book of Mormon interesting to children.

The Lost Tribe is told through the eyes of Jeff Andrews, one of the Andrews boys. Their father had won a vacation trip to Alaska, an exciting prospect for the family. When their airplane encounters problems and cannot take off, the passengers are offered alternative flights. But the Andrews family decides to stay on that plane. They, a man named Tom, and a small flight crew, constitute the entire population of the plane.

The plane's navigational system fails, and they find themselves making a forced landing somewhere in the Arctic Circle, although they don't as yet know where they are. They encounter a strange "tribe" and find themselves in a very sticky situation, unable to communicate and guilty, it seems, of some transgression they don't yet understand.

Turns out this "tribe" is one of the lost tribes of Israel! I won't go into how they figure this all out, not wanting to reveal all the details of the book. Suffice it to say that their adventures are hair-raising. Finding themselves in the midst of a serious tribal dispute, and fortunately discovering a young man who actually speaks a little English (an American they named "Christian" had similarly found his way into the tribal community, and lived among them long enough to teach them some English), the small group -- the Andrews family, Tom, and the flight crew -- must somehow find a way to escape the tribe and find some help.

As I read, I wondered how this book would sound to a younger person. The sense of adventure and wonder in the book is, I believe, a great experience for a young LDS reader. Andersen is to be commended for writing a book that doesn't "speak down" to the young people. While the story has all the earmarks of an youthful adventure, it assumes a level of intelligence that, I believe, does the young reader justice.

This fellow Tom emerges as one of the central characters in the book. I was gratified to see a non-Mormon playing such a key role in the adventure.

In fact, the part of Tom represents something of a departure in Andersen's story-telling technique. Tom is a sympathetic and authentic character. Sadly, in a few places, Andersen fails to produce a believable dialogue between Tom and the Andrews family, between gentile and Saint. This problem is not unique to this book -- Mormon understanding of other religions is often no better than a non-Mormon's understanding of Mormonism. And when conversations are related in Mormon fiction, they often go beyond what is believable.

Seeing through the eyes of a non-Mormon is a skill that involves a deep understanding of non-Mormon thought.

Let's look at one example. To set it up, the family and Tom are still on the airplane. They've been discussing biblical matters with Tom, and are now talking about ordinances. The unfamiliar names are those of the Andrews children:

Dad paused and Aaron began to turn to Jacob again, but turned back once more as Dad added, "Most of these ordinances are performed for both the living and the dead."

My attention was caught by Tom's obvious shock over this last statement. "Do you perform baptisms for the dead?" he whispered. "As spoken of in the New Testament?"

Dad answered quietly yet firmly. "Yes. We do." He was staring at Jacob as he spoke.

"I've never heard of a church that followed all those biblical teachings," Tom replied. (102-3)

How likely is it that a non-Mormon would have this view of proxy baptism? How many non-Mormons feel that baptism for the dead is a "biblical teaching"?

Fact is, non-Mormons find the practice a bit strange. And let it be said that contemporary Mormon scholars are reluctant to point to the single verse in Paul's first letter to Corinth to justify the practice. Instead, modern revelation is the key support.

The discussion would have been more realistic had Dad pointed Tom to the verse in 1 Corinthians and explained how the Church understands that scripture. It was simply not believable that Tom, a non-Mormon, would consider proxy baptism a "biblical teaching."

Another problem. Pages 138-9 contain a muddled dialogue about sabbath-keeping. Having lost track of time somewhat, the family can't decide whether it's Saturday or Sunday. They decide that it is indeed Sunday. The tribe is about to observe the sabbath. The question is asked:

didn't the Israelites celebrate the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday?"

"Maybe when Christian taught them about Christ, they changed their Sabbath to Sunday," Dad suggested.

Problem is, it has already been established that the tribe at large had rejected the Messiah, were insistent on observance of the law of Moses, including daily animal sacrifices. Given the centrality of the seventh-day Sabbath in the Israelite economy, the idea that they would have yet embraced Sunday as their Sabbath is a bit much.

I realize that a young reader will never notice the flaws I found. And, to be frank, they really don't detract from the enjoyment of the book. Nonetheless, Andersen would have benefited from submitting the text of his conversations with non-Mormons to ensure some level of credibility.

This is a fine book. It will be enjoyed by young people and adults alike. And, like the first book, it will give parents and teachers new ideas about how to teach the Book of Mormon to young people.

Get this book. It's only ten bucks, a real bargain in today's over-priced book market. I believe your young people will enjoy it, and you, too, will find it an enjoyable read.

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Jeff Needle
jeff.eedle@general.com