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In honor of the Interpreter Foundation's (IF) third birthday, I present this list of IF-related numbers for its third year, August 4, 2014-August 3, 2015 (second-year numbers in parentheses):

57 (55): number of articles published in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture (IJMS)

32 (30): number of articles authored or coauthored by individuals who serve as Interpreter Foundation board members/consultants/volunteers=56% of total number of articles

5: number of articles published by Matthew Bowen=9% of total number of articles published

35 (36): number of authors published in IJMS

14 (16): number of authors published in IJMS who serve as Interpreter board members/consultants/volunteers=40% of authors published

5 (3): number of authors published in IJMS who are women=14% of total number of authors

75 (66) number of Interpreter Foundation board members/consultants/volunteers

16 (13): number of board members/consultants/volunteers who are women=21%

1 (1): number of women who serve on the Executive Board

5 (40): number of blog posts published on the Interpreter website

0 (0): number of podcasts published

Notes:

1. A substantial portion of the content published in IJMS in the past year was authored by Interpreter board members/consultants/volunteers. This was also the case in the journal's first two years.

2. The size of Interpreter's board (board members, consultants, and volunteers) continues to grow (75 at the moment).

3. Interpreter's blog was largely inactive in the past year.

4. Interpreter appears to have given up on podcasting.

Tom:

This is absolutely fascinating stuff, as always. I was wondering: have you paid a visit over to Guidestar recently, though? I was perusing the free and publicly-available forms over there, and was intrigued by the columns showing that tens of thousands of dollars have been paid out for "publishing fees" and "editing" and things of that nature. Whose pockets did all this money wind up in, I wonder?

Doctor Scratch wrote:Tom:

This is absolutely fascinating stuff, as always. I was wondering: have you paid a visit over to Guidestar recently, though? I was perusing the free and publicly-available forms over there, and was intrigued by the columns showing that tens of thousands of dollars have been paid out for "publishing fees" and "editing" and things of that nature. Whose pockets did all this money wind up in, I wonder?

It's difficult to tell. Interpreter has not been transparent with its finances.

In honor of the Interpreter Foundation's fourth birthday, I present this list of numbers for 2015-2016 (third-year numbers in parentheses):

74 (57): number of pieces published in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture (IJMS)

42 (32): number of pieces authored or coauthored by individuals who serve as Interpreter Foundation board members, consultants, or volunteers=57% (56%) of total number of pieces

11 (5): number of pieces published by Matthew Bowen=14.9% (9%) of total number of pieces published

5 (5): number of pieces published or co-published by women=6.8% (8.8%) of total number of pieces

47 (35): number of authors published in IJMS

16 (14): number of authors published in IJMS who serve as Interpreter board members, consultants, or volunteers=34% (40%) of authors published

5 (5): number of authors published in IJMS who are women=10.6% (14%) of total number of authors

79 (75): number of Interpreter Foundation board members, consultants, or volunteers

16 (16): number of board members, consultants, or volunteers who are women=20.3% (21%) of board members, consultants, and volunteers

1 (1): number of women who serve on the Foundation's executive board=7.1% (7.1%) of board

17 (5): number of blog posts published on the Interpreter website in the past year

0 (0): number of podcasts published in the past year

Comments:

This past year saw IJMS publish a record-high number of articles and reviews, although the quality of the published pieces was decidedly mixed. Several articles suffered from editorial lapses, including Daniel Peterson's "Cloud Illusions and the Perfect Day" and K. Tolley's "To See and Hear."

Consistent with prior years, a high percentage of the content published in IJMS in 2015-2016 was authored or coauthored by Interpreter board members, consultants, and volunteers. Only a handful of published pieces (5) were written or co-written by women.

Useful insights as always, Tom, and a hearty "Happy Birthday" to the blog site known as Mormon Interpreter!

Peterson recounts...

Weeks since founding: 212.5
Consecutive Fridays on which at least one journal article has been published: 211
Scripture roundtables posted: 174
Books published: 7
Website pageviews in the last 30 days: 48,000
Website pageviews in the last year: 566,000
YouTube views over last 30 days: 5,843
YouTube minutes viewed over last 30 days: 112,000
YouTube views over last year: 58,000
YouTube minutes viewed over last year: 1,264,000

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterso ... thday.html

I notice he doesn't provide measurements against Interpreters stated objectives...

Our goal is to increase understanding of scripture through careful scholarly investigation and analysis of the insights provided by a wide range of ancillary disciplines, including language, history, archaeology, literature, culture, ethnohistory, art, geography, law, politics, philosophy, etc. Interpreter will also publish articles advocating the authenticity and historicity of LDS scripture and the Restoration, along with scholarly responses to critics of the LDS faith. We hope to illuminate, by study and faith, the eternal spiritual message of the scriptures—that Jesus is the Christ.

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/mission-statement/

I have a question wrote:Peterson recounts...

Weeks since founding: 212.5
Consecutive Fridays on which at least one journal article has been published: 211
Scripture roundtables posted: 174
Books published: 7
Website pageviews in the last 30 days: 48,000
Website pageviews in the last year: 566,000
YouTube views over last 30 days: 5,843
YouTube minutes viewed over last 30 days: 112,000
YouTube views over last year: 58,000
YouTube minutes viewed over last year: 1,264,000

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterso ... thday.html

I notice he doesn't provide measurements against Interpreters stated objectives...

Our goal is to increase understanding of scripture through careful scholarly investigation and analysis of the insights provided by a wide range of ancillary disciplines, including language, history, archaeology, literature, culture, ethnohistory, art, geography, law, politics, philosophy, etc. Interpreter will also publish articles advocating the authenticity and historicity of LDS scripture and the Restoration, along with scholarly responses to critics of the LDS faith. We hope to illuminate, by study and faith, the eternal spiritual message of the scriptures—that Jesus is the Christ.

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/mission-statement/

I must confess, IHAQ, that Dr. Peterson's report is deeply troubling. First, I express my concern about the cost of these annual birthday parties. Was the widow's mite used to provide "smoked meats" for 75 people to feast on? (This scripture comes to mind.) Second, I sense a weakening focus at the Interpreter Foundation. How does a "24-minute film devoted to the life and musical testimony of [a] late composer and Tabernacle organist," as worthy a project as it may be, "increase understanding of scripture through careful scholarly investigation and analysis of the insights provided by a wide range of ancillary disciplines, including language, history, archaeology, literature, culture, ethnohistory, art, geography, law, politics, philosophy, etc."? How much did this project cost? How much more will be spent to perpetuate this "major new initiative"? I must caution the Foundation, even raise a voice of warning, about what is sometimes termed "mission creep" that too often appears to infect organizations. (Elder Maxwell's prophetic warning about this danger echoes in my mind.) The Foundation must be vigilant to avoid falling victim to this ever-present threat. If the Foundation fails to reorient itself, I fear there will continue to be plenty of "uncontested slam dunks" and the Relief Society sister in Parowan will be lost.

Let me be the first person in the world to wish the Interpreter Foundation a happy fifth birthday.

As a long-time friend of the Foundation, I look forward to this weekend's Interpreter Foundation soiree on the shores of Utah Lake to celebrate the momentous occasion. I anticipate lively conversation, swimming (guests should simply swim around the toxic algae), much laughter, and a sumptuous and sensuous feast featuring more than 50 pounds of imitation (caffeine-free Coke-flavored) Café Rio sweet pork plus an open cash bar.

On tap will be many of Utah's dirty soda favorites, including Nehi and His Masherah, Canada (Polyan)Dry, Hugh Nipley, METI Mai Tai, Chattanooga Cheapshot (or the Gall of Bitterness), Counterfeit and Alternative Lifestyles, Parable of the Dew Pickle, Arsen Sic et Non, For Young Men Only, Alternative Vices, Cruise Lady Bender, and Yoo-Hoo Unto Juices.

Celebrants will have a rare opportunity to watch the classic satirical Super-8 home movie Oedipus Wrecked (starring Dr. Peterson as Teiresias, Dr. Midgley as Jocasta, and Dr. Hamblin in a delightful cameo role as Dr. Sigmund Freud). In addition, we can expect to catch a sneak preview of the long-awaited forthcoming film Bill and Dan's Excellent Adventure in Anti-Mormon Zombie Hell, the production of which was made possible by generous supporters of the Foundation. A wonderful time should be had by all.

To commemorate the Interpreter Foundation's fifth birthday, I present the Interpreter Foundation's statistics for 2016-2017, freshly calculated by the inestimable Relief Society sister in Parowan who works at the home office (fourth-year numbers in parentheses):

54 (74): number of articles published in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture (IJMS) in the past 12 months.

28 (42): number of articles written by individuals who serve as Interpreter Foundation board members, consultants, or volunteers. These 28 articles represent 52% (57%) of the total number of published articles in IJMS in the past 12 months.

5 (11): number of articles published in IJMS by Matthew Bowen in the past 12 months. Bowen's articles represent 9.3% (14.9%) of the total number of articles published in the past 12 months.

4 (5): number of articles published in IJMS by women in the past 12 months. These articles represent 7.4% (6.8%) of the total number of articles published in the past 12 months.

35 (47): number of different authors published in IJMS in the past 12 months.

14 (16): number of authors published in IJMS in the past 12 months who serve as Interpreter board members, consultants, or volunteers. These authors represent 40% (34%) of the authors published in the past 12 months.

4 (5): number of authors published in IJMS in the past 12 months who are women. This number represents 11.4% (10.6%) of the total number of authors published in the past 12 months.

82 (79): number of Interpreter Foundation board members, consultants, or volunteers at year's end.

14 (16): number of board members, consultants, or volunteers who are women. This number represents 17.1% (20.3%) of the total number of board members, consultants, and volunteers.

1 (1): number of women who serve on the Foundation's executive board. This number represents 6.7% (7.1%) of the total number of executive board members.

5 (17): number of blog posts published on the Interpreter website in the past year (counting four posts linking to LDS Perspectives podcasts).

In the last few weeks, IJMS has published more than 90 pages of writings from Dr. Duane Boyce on whether quality of thought in LDS scholarly discourse regarding prophets and revelation is deteriorating. We can expect an additional 40-50 pages on the subject from Dr. Boyce today. (Side note: if readers are able to access the links in footnotes 79, 82, 83, 86, 87, 92, and 93 in Part One, let me know.) The more relevant question to ask, I think, is whether discourse in IJMS is deteriorating. The answer seems to be yes.

I would say that the most interesting development is the reversion to polemics/boundary maintenance in the Boyce pieces. It's like reliving the days of Greg Smith, MD (hey, he is a doctor!) hit pieces.

By the way, I love the thread title. Maybe next year it will be "Millstones 'Round Their Necks."

Has the Interpreter given anything worthy of note to the subject of Mormon Studies as a scholarly venue? Just curious. One rarely reads about what it says from others anywhere else on the internet other than here to note its rather blase kind of thinking and repeating of wornout apologetic interpretations which have been given out for decades and is decidedly not convincing much.