Printed Journal Welcome to Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, the peer-reviewed journal of The Interpreter Foundation, a nonprofit, independent, educational organization focused on the scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Non-print versions of our journal are available free of charge, with our goal to increase understanding of scripture. Our latest papers can be found below.

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Call for Proposals

“For a Wise Purpose in Him”

Perspectives on the Small Plates of Nephi
(1 Nephi – Words of Mormon)

A Conference on the Small Plates of Nephi in the Book of Mormon

May 29-30, 2026

Sponsored byThe Interpreter Foundation

Go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2026-small-plates-of-nephi/ for more information

Video and audio recordings are now available

Abraham and His Family

In Scripture, History, and Tradition

Saturday, May 3, 2025
Saturday, May 10, 2025

Sponsored by
The Interpreter Foundation,
Brigham Young University Religious Education,
Scripture Central, and FAIR

For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2025-abraham-and-his-family-conference/

Why was the Liahona a Sphere? A New Perspective on Its Form and Function

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Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 151-176
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Abstract: A new, simpler design for the Liahona is proposed, which, if correct, makes the reason for two spindles and a hollow-ball shape perfectly obvious. Previous proposed models of the Liahona usually show horizontal, compass-like pointers inside an open-top ball, but our model has vertical spindles protected inside a hollow ball with viewing ports to allow the aligned spindles to be superimposed on a view of the horizon, precisely marking the direction of travel. Lehi’s first use of the Liahona is discussed. Book of Mormon descriptions of the Liahona and how it was used are compared with modern attempts to visualize its design and function. A greater understanding of the Liahona’s two spindles and its surface text may yet be discovered from experimentation with physical models.

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Adam Clarke and Isaiah in
the Book of Mormon

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 131-150
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Abstract: A recent article alleges that in creating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith copied Isaiah passages out of the Bible commentary of Scottish theologian Adam Clarke. The author of the article alleges that while doing so, the Prophet edited those passages based on suggestions from Clarke’s cross references and commentary. This explains the differences between Isaiah in the King James translation and the corresponding Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon. A careful analysis of the Isaiah verses in the Book of Mormon and Clarke’s commentary shows that this claim is not true.

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The Plates of Gardner

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 113-130
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Review of Brant A. Gardner, The Plates of Mormon: A Book of Mormon Study Edition, and its companion volume, Engraven Upon Plates, Printed Upon Paper: Textual and Narrative Structures of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2023). Study edition 598 pp.; $34.95 (paperback). Commentary 485 pp.; $24.95 (paperback).

Abstract: This paper addresses the reasons for a recent spurt in Book of Mormon study editions and contextualizes the unique contributions of Brant Gardner’s The Plates of Mormon: A Book of Mormon Study Edition. Unlike other study editions, which cater to the needs of believing Church members, prospective missionaries, or the (secular) scholarly community, Gardner writes that The Plates of Mormon is an attempt to understand the book in terms of the ancient Mesoamerican culture that produced it, something for which he, a trained Mesoamericanist, is uniquely qualified. To do so, he must first peel away the layers superimposed upon its current version by Joseph Smith’s translation for his Early American frontier community. That complicated process is detailed in a companion volume, Engraven Upon Plates, Printed Upon Paper: Textual and Narrative Structures of the Book of Mormon, which receives the bulk of this review’s attention. Gardner’s discoveries and conclusions are briefly rather than comprehensively summarized in this review.

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Smooth Words and Slippery Things: Samuel the Lamanite’s Prophetic Use of Hebrew ḥlq

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 93-112
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Abstract: Samuel the Lamanite expressly drew on the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 30:10) and possibly Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:12) with a clever, powerful wordplay on forms of the Hebrew verbal root ḥlq: ḥălāqôt (“flattering words,” literally “smooth things”) and ḥălaqlaqqôt (“slippery [things]”) in Helaman 13:28–36. This wordplay established a genetic relationship between yielding oneself to those who “speak flattering words unto [us]” (Helaman 13:28) and material riches and treasures becoming “slippery that [we] cannot hold them” (Helaman 13:31, 36). This use of smooth/slippery, closely tied to the discussion in the Hebrew Bible of giving heed to false prophets over true prophets, is thus an apt marker of Samuel’s meaning, and perhaps also of his training. Samuel’s pronouncement of this unique curse, linguistically correlated with rejecting prophetic words, described a loss of worldly wealth and vividly depicted the accompanying spiritual desolation of slippery ways and dark places. Mormon and Moroni offered their latter-day readers a way out of the cycle of “slippery” possessions and destruction that befell the Jaredites and the Nephites: Jesus Christ, who showed us how to lay up treasures in heaven. Mormon’s preservation of Samuel’s prophetic wordplay stands as a significant, additional confirmation of the ancient provenance of the text.

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Reconciling Evolution by Faith or Framing?

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 85-92
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Review of Jamie L. Jensen, Steven L. Peck, Ugo A. Perego, and T. Benjamin Spackman, eds. The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution. Provo, UT: College of Life Sciences, Brigham Young University, 2025. 272 pgs.

Abstract: This review critically evaluates The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution, a multi-author volume that seeks to harmonize evolutionary science with the doctrines and theological framework of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the book offers valuable pedagogical models, personal narratives, and historical context for addressing faith-science tensions, it exhibits notable limitations. Chief among these is an oversimplified distinction between belief and acceptance in scientific discourse, a lack of engagement with legitimate critiques of evolutionary theory, and insufficient resolution of scriptural and theological tensions. Although the collection succeeds in promoting dialogue and reducing conflict among religious students and educators, its rhetorical bias toward scientific consensus and avoidance of unresolved doctrinal issues ultimately weakens its reconciliatory potential. The volume is a meaningful step forward but leaves substantial theological and epistemological work unfinished. The volume’s most commendable aspiration lies in its effort to model epistemological reconciliation—not merely tolerance—between scientific and religious modes of knowing, a theme that could benefit from further theological exploration.

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Expanding the Descriptive Vocabulary for the Translation of the Book of Mormon

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 71-84
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Abstract: There are many questions that can be asked about the translation of the Book of Mormon. This paper focuses on a single question: What was the relationship between the English translation and the Nephite text? Of course, without the original, we must speculate, but it is suggested that there are two concepts used in modern translation theories that can help us understand why certain elements appear in the English translation that might appear to have a questionable relationship to an ancient Nephite text.

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Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms

Chapter 9
Concluding Observations

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 65 (2025): 239-280
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[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present chapter 9 from a book entitled Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms. It is presented in serialized form in this volume of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. This is immediately followed by a selected bibliography for the book.]

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A Combinatorial Approach to Modeling All Possible Golden Plates

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 66 (2025): 1-70
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Abstract: Historical reports containing information about the properties of the golden plates provide upper and lower bounds for calculating possible configurations of their size, weight, and material composition, as well as the possible properties of reformed Egyptian. This study employs a two-part process to analyze these configurations. First, it examines the physical properties of the plates, generating over 4 billion possible combinations. Second, it analyzes the nature of the writing on the plates, assuming the translated English text of the Book of Mormon is directly representative of the reformed Egyptian engravings. This process involves calculating and filtering combinations based on historical accounts, physical constraints, and linguistic considerations. The study demonstrates that while most configurations are unworkable, nearly one million configurations remain both physically possible and consistent with the documentary record. Key findings suggest the plates likely had less than 20% gold content, weighed more than 54 lb., contained between 187 and 259 plates, and had dimensions slightly smaller than, but within 10% of, Joseph Smith’s description. The writing on the plates likely averaged less than 5 mm square, with each character representing at least three English characters, similar to Egyptian Demotic. Although there are inherent limitations in historical analysis of this kind, this mathematical approach provides a novel perspective on the physical reality of the plates.

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“Get Thou Up into the Temple”: Receiving Revelation and Becoming Holy in the House of the Lord

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 64 (2025): vii-xxxii
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Abstract: Psalms 15:1–5, 24:2–3, and 48:1 [MT 2], as temple hymns of the Jerusalem Temple, are consistent with other texts such as Isaiah 2:2–3 and Genesis 22:14, which envision the holy temple as the “mountain of the Lord” into which one must ritually ascend. The examples of Moses, Nephi, Jacob, and others who ascended into this “mountain” demonstrate that this ascent facilitates the reception of divine revelation necessary in our mortal journey to become holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This sacred ascent is necessary for our eventual, individual, and collective “perfection” in Christ, and it is one that he himself consistently made. Recently, President Russell M. Nelson and other Church leaders have emphasized the wealth of spiritual blessings that result from increased, meaningful service in the temple. If we, as Latter-day Saints, will more frequently and diligently ascend and worship in the temple, we will receive the personal revelation, instruction, and divine correction that we need to help us more fully come unto Christ. He will also console us there, endow us with the strength to endure, and make us more holy.

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Seeing with a Hat: How Joseph Smith Used a Hat in Translating the Book of Mormon

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 64 (2025): 451-532
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Abstract: Joseph Smith’s use of a seer stone and hat in producing the Book of Mormon has been a point of confusion, dismay, and even embarrassment among some believers. These feelings may reflect a lack of understanding of the functions of these objects in enabling Joseph to receive divine revelation. As the term was used in the Bible and commonly used in Joseph Smith’s day, a seer was a “see-er” of visions. Accordingly, a seer stone was a stone used for seeing visions. Joseph was reported to have used seer stones to receive the translation of the Book of Mormon in vision. This is how he reportedly described the experience of translation to others. According to these reports, Joseph said that he read the translation from a manuscript that appeared before him. The revelation of the Book of Mormon translation to Joseph in vision places him in the company of ancient seers such as Ezekiel and Lehi, who also read from sacred manuscripts seen in vision. This paper specifically addresses the nature of Joseph’s hat and its function in the revelation of the translation of the Book of Mormon.

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The Bands of Death, the Chains of Hell, and the Seed Motif

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 64 (2025): 425-450
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Abstract: This article continues a discussion of the imagery, words, and phrases that make up a specific leitmotif, called the seed motif. Two instances of the seed motif found in Alma are discussed as a seemingly intentional diptych in which one narrative reflects the other, but in the negative. Five specific examples from the motif are examined in greater detail, with a look at their origin and usage throughout the record. The narrative of Abinadi is presented as a unique iteration of the seed motif wherein the concept of the bands of death is introduced. The paper concludes by discussing the relationship between authorship of the Book of Mormon, the seed motif, and the metaphor of the bands of death and the chains of hell.

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Latter-day Saint Theology and the Problem of Evil

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Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 64 (2025): 377-424
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Abstract: The classical formulation of God as the sole, self-existent Being and ground of all that exists poses a philosophical problem. If God is omniscient and omnipotent, why does evil exist? Why does he not save humankind from moral and natural evil? If we embrace the full set of classical assumptions of creedal Christianity, these questions have no satisfactory answer and God cannot be absolved of responsibility for evil. This paper reviews and rejects several classical and modern philosophical formulations that try to solve the problem of evil. It then argues that the problem of evil dissolves if we accept Restoration theology in its most compelling form. Pluralism replaces monism, law is largely natural rather than legislated, and the necessity of atonement is located in humanity rather than in God, though God graciously provides the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which makes human exaltation possible.

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Joseph Smith Jr. as a Translator: The Book of Abraham as a Case Study

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 64 (2025): 345-376
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Abstract: This paper examines Joseph Smith’s approach to translation, using the Book of Abraham as a case study to explore the interplay between divine revelation and human participation in scriptural production. While the Book of Abraham incorporates both ancient and modern elements, its unique synthesis resists simple categorization as either an unblemished Abrahamic autograph or a purely nineteenth-century pseudepigraphon. Drawing on historical evidence and textual analysis, this paper aims to illuminate Joseph Smith’s role as both translator and revelator, offering insights into how Latter-day Saints might understand the complex process of producing sacred texts.

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