Exploring Scripture Through Prose

The act of exploring scripture through prose is a very interesting idea. It is easy to think that it would be a dangerous attempt, being forced to take so many liberties and explore things the scriptures often remain silent or vague about. Is it always a good idea? What are some of the pros and cons? Right now I'm having a hard time thinking of any legitimate cons. We could obviously never call it doctrine, but imagining and recreating the great events of scripture in such a way opens doors of thought that are super interesting to explore. I would love to read/write a tragedy of this type from the perspective of Moroni, maybe starting from the point of Mormon 8:

 1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.

 2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.

 3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.

 4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.

 5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not

That's some great tragedy material. And, like Samson in Milton's tragedy, reading such an exploration could cause the reader to have a greater appreciation for what Moroni had to go through and reflect on his situation. I found Milton's Agonistes extremely redeeming for Samson as a character in a way I had never pictured Samson in my reading of the scriptural story.

The Evolution of Liberty and Mormonism

A sign like this would have driven Milton crazy. One of Milton's crowning arguments of Areopagitica is that God gave man reason and temptation to use. He says

"Many there be that complain of divine providence for suffering Adam to transgress. Foolish tongues! When God gave him reason, He gave him freedom to choose; for reason is but choosing; . . . God therefore left him free, set before him a provoking object, ever almost in his eyes."

The idea that reason allows us to choose good from evil necessitates unrestrained options. If you have no options you cannot choose. If this is true and Milton himself doesn't have the rights he desires, is it any wonder then that Milton lobbied for freedom of press, freedom of religion, and a free government? One scholarly review by William Haller argues

"the more each protesting body suffered from intolerance the more tolerant it became, that the more it was forced to contend for liberty for itself the more nearly it approached the conception of liberty for all, with the result that implied principle was finally by the ultimate dissenters extricated from all the pain of cumulative persecution and kindled, as it were, 'on the top of a light-house, on its own account.'"

Reevaluating Authority: Milton, Sola Scriptura, and Papal Praxis

Milton's political and religious works underscore key ideological tenets within the broader movement of Reformation Puritanism.

In "Of Reformation," Milton emphasizes the Puritan concept of sola scriptura, or the idea that truth is to be found only through study of the scriptures. Milton writes that truth may be had in "searching, trying, examining all things, and by the spirit discerning that which is good." Thus, the authority of truth comes not through episcopal figures, interpreting the texts, but by the personal and direct manifestations of the Holy Ghost. For Milton, this idea of personal truth and spiritual direction plays into the most fundamental aspects of belief and practice. Milton even goes so far as to suggest that the English king might learn better governance by a similar policy. He suggests that the king "betake himself to the old and new testament and receive direction from them how to administer both church and commonwealth," an idea that simultaneously undermines the authority of the prelacy, questions the legitimacy of the monarchy, and reinforces the fundamental Puritan principle of sola scriptura.