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“Interpreter book review” wrote: Critique

I really liked all 184 pages of Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide. The four authors have gone to extraordinary lengths to remain fair and even-handed in their treatment of twentieth-century scholars and scholarship while at the same time promoting their twenty-first-century agenda.

While the authors do try to be scrupulously fair, the deck is clearly and myopically stacked in favor of what they frame as the twenty-first-century view.

An example is the uneven representation of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (which one of the authors, Joseph M. Spencer, edits) and Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.

There are thirty references from the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies in the appendix, but only a single, must-read reference from the Interpreter, David M. Belnap’s summary essay entitled, “The Inclusive, Anti- Discrimination Message of the Book of Mormon,” a 175-page article that advances the chapter-five agenda in Book of Mormon Studies.

Finally, the description of Interpreter in Book of Mormon Studies is far from kind.

The journal is positioned in the book as a backward-looking publication in which FARMS retreads who have nothing new to say publish marginally relevant historicity papers. In one place, they even get the name of the journal wrong, calling it the Mormon Interpreter (p. 40). Here is what Book of Mormon Studies has to say about Interpreter:

Theory/Approach: The Book of Mormon is an ancient document, as will be demonstrated through comparative study of the text and ancient Near Eastern documents and sources. Major Figures/Movements: High Nibley and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies in the twentieth century; scholars publishing in the Interpreter in the twenty-first century. (p. 41)

As publications in the Mormon Interpreter (later renamed Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship) show, there nevertheless remains much work to do on the historical origins of the Book of Mormon. (p. 40)
The Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship publishes a good deal of scholarship on the Book of Mormon, most of it in the vein of traditional twentieth-century scholarship. (p. 153)

The reason, then, for privileging the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies over the Interpreter in Book of Mormon Studies is that the former is avant garde and the latter is backward-looking.

This privileging of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies does not seem to be warranted by impact on the discipline of Book of Mormon studies, as measured by a citation analysis. Articles in Interpreter are likely to be cited twice as often as articles appearing in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.

I believe that the influence of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies will continue to wane, because it is now locked behind a paywall and is not freely available to the three target audiences described at the beginning of Book of Mormon Studies. This same analysis suggests a bright, impactful future for Interpreter.

drumdude wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 25, 2023 4:17 am

The articles on Interpreter may be backwards looking reheated leftovers, but at least they’re not behind a paywall!

The authors of Book of Mormon Studies complain 42 about too restrictive gatekeeping and a lack of openness to alternative perspectives in the FARMS era.

[Footnote] 42. “Still more worrisome is a further temptation: to allow defense of the Book of Mormon to become a kind of gatekeeping among the saints. That is, far too often accusations are made by one believer about another. Whether they’re written and published or whether they’re just whispered into individual ears in quieter settings, such accusations should have no place in the field of Book of Mormon studies” (p. 75).

Dr Exiled wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 25, 2023 4:24 am

DCP:

For the life of me, I don't understand the incessant need to constantly travel. Jet lag sucks. Why continuously put yourself through it when you've seen the places you go to thousands of times. Is there anything new? Utah county is a fine place to be. It seems like you're running from something. Go spend time with your grandchildren already. You don't have much time left.

Tom wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:06 pm

“Another problem with the book and its contents is that it feels somewhat inbred.”

I have that same feeling when I read Interpreter.

“In one place, they even get the name of the journal wrong, calling it the Mormon Interpreter (p. 40).”

What was the original URL for Interpreter? MormonInterpreter.com?

Tom wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:44 pm

I think the copy editor was on vacation this week. A few of the errors I spotted:

“The first reader segment consists of ‘believing latter-day [sic] Saints — especially young ones — who are interested in contributing to Book of Mormon scholarship’” (p. 5).”

“James E. Talmadge [sic]”

“the Mark Hoffman [sic] forgeries”

I’m embarrassed for the proprietor. Interpreter is not a serious journal.