Review of Appropriation and Adaptation of J Material in the Book of Mormon (Colby J. Townsend)

Colby Townsend's thesis has recently been placed online by the University of Utah. I've been anxious to read this thesis for some time now. I first became aware of this project a little over two years ago, and I've been patiently anticipating this opportunity since this thesis explores a topic that I'm highly interested in. Historically speaking, little attention has been given to the interaction between the Book of Mormon and the Documentary Hypothesis ("DH") and this thesis remedies that situation to some degree by moving that interaction forward. While the DH has been discussed in past LDS publications, the attention to Book of Mormon literary studies in this context has been relatively negligible.1 An undertaking to engage the Book of Mormon within this framework, such as this thesis sets out to accomplish, is long overdue and is more than welcome.

Before delving into the review, however, it should be noted that a good review of any work would highlight the positive and enlightening contributions made by the author, acknowledge new ground broken, and applaud creative or critical assessments of information presented in the book. A good review would also identify areas of weakness and shortcomings, as well as scope limitations. A good review is neither too lengthy, nor too concise. However, I do not intend to employ brevity in this review. I want to engage this thesis rather than summarize it. I want to explore and apply and challenge assertions in the thesis rather than simply acknowledge them. For these reasons, the review of this thesis will not be limited to a single post, and this particular post will serve as an introduction to the review, with the review itself being taken up in subsequent posts.

Note: This review isn't the only thing going on in my life. Please be patient with me as I write up my exploration and review of this thesis.

______________________

1 Other important works could be cited but the three most important studies (in my opinion) that look specifically at the text within the Book of Mormon (and by implication the text of the Brass Plates) from the lens of higher criticism include John Sorenson, "The Brass Plates and Biblical Scholarship," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 10/4 (Autumn 1977):31-39, Kevin L. Barney, "Reflections on the Documentary Hypothesis," Dialogue 33/1 (Spring 2000):57-99, and David Bokovoy, Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis - Deuteronomy (Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2014); also see David Bokovoy, "The Word and the Seed: The Theological Use of Biblical Creation in Alma 32," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 23 (2014):1-21; other studies on the topic have primarily focused upon reception of the DH by Latter-day Saints rather than engaging the Book of Mormon and other restorational texts within this framework.