The Plan of Salvation and "Added Upon"

In Nephi Anderson’s “Added Upon”, I thought that it was very interesting how the plot developed.  I think Anderson accomplished what Orson F. Whitney wanted regarding the church and how literature would take part in it.

In the speech called “Home Literature” by Orson F. Whitney, Whitney mentions the scripture “If ye are Abraham’s children, ye will do the works of Abraham.”  Whitney also states “It is by means of literature that much of this great work will have to be accomplished: a literature of power and purity, worth of such a work.”  So, according to Whitney, the “works of Abraham”, or the works of salvation, are to be done through literature.

In Anderson’s “Added Upon”, as Anderson would have characters in the book speak, he would sometimes have the characters give doctrine, often by having them go on for paragraphs at a time, something that probably wouldn’t happen in a real conversation.  However unrealistic this may have been, I believe Anderson did a great job of keeping the dialogue simple, moving the story along fairly quickly, and sharing the entire Plan of Salvation without losing the interest of the reader.

By doing this, I believe that Anderson helped accomplish what Orson F. Whitney was talking about – the “works of Abraham” or the works of salvation.  I think that reading “Added Upon” is a refreshing take on the well-established Plan of Salvation.  By being refreshing, “Added Upon” can help create new interest in the Plan of Salvation that might be lacking as a result of always seeing the Plan of Salvation in the same way (through scripture, Sunday school, etc.).  This can help someone stay focused on studying the Plan of Salvation, whereas he or she might not be inclined to study it or focus on it nearly as much.