Jawbone, I feel like I'm getting from point A to point B slowly here, but you're not directly answering my questions and so forgive me if I slip up restating your position. The added history is very interesting to me, by the way.
His books persisted and were found in a dust bin
So was the Book of Mormon when Vincenzo Di Francesca discovered it. That the apostate RLDS church rejected it doesn't affect credibility, in fact, we'd expect the darkened world to discard it just like that person burned the Book of Mormon that Vincenzo found in the dust bin. I take it the problem is that the idea not only wasn't originated by the Prophet, but didn't even originate by a member-scholar in good standing -- it originated with a wannabe scholar from an apostate church. Is that the problem?
Normally I might say from DCP's perspective it's a non-issue because "Mendel was neglected" and so Hills also could have been neglected, but the quote from DCP does show he's trying to minimize the importance of Hills -- he's once again "barely aware" of something. 99.9% of the time, when DCP triumphantly announces he's "barely aware" of something, it's something he knows quite a lot about and it's something that is damning to Mopologetics.
It's as if he would acknowledge Mendel if really pressed on the matter, rather than boastfully -- "Look at Mendel!" Why isn't he saying "Look at Hills!" in the same way? He even said he'll take truth wherever he can find it, in connection with this matter. And so I do see that the participation of Hills is somehow material and damning to his worldview by the implications of his evasions over it when theoretically, by his theory, Hills should be on rich soil, but I'm trying to understand why that is the case. You both seem to be on the same page, but I'm not quite there in understand the page myself.
