Foreword
The Restoration is a tradition marked by the emergence of new scriptures, often involving miraculous origin stories such as discovered ancient writings. However, I believe that the stories associated with these stories merely serve to bolster their perceived divine origin, and were truly written by their “translator”. This would make many Restoration scriptures pseudepigraphic midrashes, which are literary works which expand upon previously-written scripture and whose claimed author is not the true author.
The Book of the Lavens does not have a miraculous origin story, because it was not developed with one. I considered embellishing how it was developed or outright fabricating a story in order to fit within this Restoration tradition, but ultimately I felt like it would be dishonest of me to do so and would distract from the teachings within. Instead, this scripture is presented upfront as a pseudepigraphic midrash of 3rd and 4th Nephi so we may instead focus on its profound teachings rather than its origins.
Alexander Campbell, a contemporary of Joseph Smith and former spiritual leader of Sidney Rigdon, recognized that the Book of Mormon addressed every major religious issue of the previous decade. In this way, it spoke profoundly to the spiritual needs of the people of the early-to-mid 19th century, and was able to be a unique source of solace and guidance to those who came to hold it as scripture.
Similarly, The Book of the Lavens speaks to concerns of our day, offering insights on topics such as income inequality, entheogenic usage, and the experiences of Queer individuals. In this way, it is able to be a unique source of solace and guidance to those who need it on these topics, and it does so in a way that breathes new life into old theological concepts and folk tales.
Of particular interest to me has been Queer representation. As a bisexual, polyamorous, and transgender woman, I grew up not having Queer representation in scriptural stories. The Book of the Lavens is my attempt to step into the Restoration tradition of scripture making so I may fill this void, offering stories that may enable both this and the next generation to feel seen, valued, and loved by God.
This scripture tells the tales of the Lavens, a group exiled from other Nephite tribes, who form their own tribe after the assassination of the chief judge Lachoneus the Younger. It expounds upon the lives, experiences, and ministries of those Disciples whom Christ had chosen to teach and lead in The Promised Land after He departed. All of these Disciples, in today’s terminology, would be considered Queer.