In the ensuring years, not much has changed.
Beliefs about the setting of the Book of Mormon still hinge on whether we accept or reject the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah. Discussion of extrinsic evidence from archaeology, anthropology, geology, etc., as well as interpretations of the text, all derive from whether or not we accept or reject the New York Cumorah.
That's how bias confirmation works, no matter how much people dress up their theories.
That's why we can read Brant Gardner's work, or John Sorenson's, or any number of "Interpreters," and see the obvious bias confirmation at play. And I readily admit that my own views, explained in both editions of Moroni's America, reflect my own bias in favor of the teachings of the prophets.
Some people avoid this obvious point by directly rejecting what the prophets have taught. Some avoid it by ignoring Cumorah altogether (the way the Gospel Topics entry does).
And all of that is fine. People can believe whatever they want.
But every Latter-day Saint ought to make informed decisions, and no one can make an informed decision without knowing the facts.
In this case, at a minimum every Latter-day Saint should read Letter VII in his/her own language. This is why we are making it available in multiple languages soon.
Along with the "Simplicity" post that continues to resonate.
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The most popular Page on this blog is the one that explain acronyms. The second most popular Page is a video. Thus, the most popular substantive Page is one that correlates to the "Simplicity" post.
This is a legacy Page posted before the shift away from the term "Mormon" and the changes to the Church website, etc. But it still works because it explains how confirmation bias has operated all these years.
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