The good stuff 1

I've often said that the Interpreter publishes some good material. People ask me for examples. Here's one:

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/moving-beyond-the-historicity-question-or-a-manifesto-for-future-book-of-mormon-research/#more-64352

This is a thoughtful review of the book titled Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide. The review does an excellent job summarizing and explaining this important and useful book.

Predictably, the review is a little defensive about the Interpreter. 

There are thirty references from the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies in the [Page 307]appendix, but only a single, must-read reference from the Interpreter... Finally, the description of Interpreter in Book of Mormon Studies is far from kind.

Toward the end, the article ironically describes the "Gatekeeper problem."

The Gatekeeper Problem

Another problem with the book and its contents is that it feels somewhat inbred. I greatly admire much of the work done by the authors, but I also admire work done by other scholars not affiliated with the organizations in which the authors exercise gatekeeping power. The authors have been remarkably productive researchers and have made valuable contributions to our understanding of the Book of Mormon, but so have others unaffiliated with the Maxwell Institute, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar, and the Academy of Book of Mormon Studies. The authors of Book of Mormon Studies complain42 about too restrictive gatekeeping and a lack of openness to alternative perspectives in the FARMS era. Whether those concerns have merit, the authors themselves generally include in their list of contemporary scholarship work primarily done by the authors and others affiliated with the organizations in which they serve as principals. The value of their survey would be greater if their canon of worthwhile research were more open and broader.

The Gatekeeper problem is the primary deficiency in the Interpreter (apart from the arrogant name of the journal). The Editorial Board of the Interpreter would be well served to reconsider their gatekeeping approach.