BYU M2C/SITH conference

I referred to the conference last weekend, sponsored by the Interpreter and others, as the M2C conference. I should have referred to it as the M2C/SITH conference.

https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2026-small-plates-of-nephi-conference/program-abstracts

Among the presentations was one by Jeff Lindsay, who is an awesome Latter-day Saint, etc. It is based on his Interpreter article. I did a review of that article here:

https://interpreterpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2026/02/jeff-lindsays-moses-parallels.html

https://interpreterpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-on-jeff-lindsays-moses-parallels.html

https://interpreterpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2026/02/explanation-of-post-on-jeff-lindsays.html

Jeff, like the other Interpreters, is a SITH sayer, meaning he advocates the stone-in-the-hat (SITH) theory that, as Royal Skousen explains, means Joseph and Oliver deliberately misled everyone about the translation. It is easy to understand why critics seek to portray Joseph and Oliver as deceivers, but it is less easy to understand why Jeff and the other Interpreters do so. 

This is particularly puzzling because the evidence supports Joseph and Oliver. 

I look at the identical evidence offered by the SITH sayers and conclude that the evidence corroborates what Joseph and Oliver always said; i.e., that Joseph translated the engravings on the plates.

But the Interpreters won't tell their readers about this alternative interpretation of the data.

That's why I post my reviews.

This is Jeff's abstract:

The Influence of the Brass Plates Version of Genesis (Possible Precursor to the Book of Moses) on the Authors of the Small Plates

Jeff Lindsay

Unexpected connections between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon led to Noel Reynolds’s 1990 hypothesis that something much like our Book of Moses may have been on the brass plates and may have influenced Book of Mormon voices. Reynolds called this hypothetical text “the brass plates version of Genesis.” Those connections or parallels generally cannot be readily explained by Joseph Smith relying on KJV language and some point to a counterintuitive one-way connection from the Book of Moses to the Book of Mormon. Data comparing the small plates with the large plates show that the small plates provide a disproportionately large number of parallels to the Book of Moses. For example, Nephi₁, Lehi₁, and Jacob seem to frequently employ parallels to the Book of Moses. In 2 Nephi 2, the Book of Mormon chapter with the highest concentration of parallels to the Book of Moses, Lehi₁ in v. 17 shows that he is interacting with a written record that appears to be a version of Genesis clearly different from the Masoretic text but similar to the Book of Moses.

We also consider David Calabro’s reasonable proposal that an early Christian version of the Book of Moses different in some ways from the brass plates version of Genesis may have been behind the translation of the Book of Moses. That proposal may explain why small plates voices did not seem to learn of the name Jesus Christ from a brass plates text similar to the Book of Moses, where that name appears four times. Also considered is the distribution of verses within the Book of Moses that are involved in the parallels, which can highlight topics that drew special attention in the Book of Mormon, especially in the small plates. Finally, an update is provided to the list of parallels, now totaling 186, with explanations of over 40 new parallels and several that have been withdrawn.

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Here is part of my initial review from the first link:

TLDR summary: As usual, the Interpreter publishes another "peer-reviewed" article to propose a narrative that most Latter-day Saints would like: the idea that the Nephites had access to a version of the Old Testament that contained what we have now as the Book of Moses.

However, in developing this narrative, Jeff promotes the SITH narrative while overlooking the logical and factual fallacies that contradict the SITH narrative. The evidence not considered in the article corroborates Joseph Smith's claim that he translated the plates.

At the conclusion of his article, Jeff writes: 

Alternate hypotheses and new questions are welcome as we explore the implications of the data, but for now, the connections between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon strike me as important evidence for the divinity, authenticity, and antiquity of both texts, and for their miraculous translation into English.

We doubt Jeff (or anyone else at the Interpreter) will actually welcome any alternate hypothesis that contradicts SITH, so we'll post this here.

Of course, I'd be happy to develop this into an actual article if the Interpreter was actually willing to publish alternative hypotheses, but that is highly unlikely. And if they did, they would hold the article until their editorial staff found someone to critique it, not as peer review suggestions ahead of publication, but in an effort to reassure their readers that SITH (and M2C) remain the only authorized explanation for the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. And then of course I wouldn't be able to respond to the inevitably misleading criticism except in comments that no one reads.

Sigh...

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The M2C element of the conference included the presentation by Matt Roper, who is an awesome Latter-day Saint, a great guy, and a fine scholar. Here is the abstract: 

“A Mighty Nation Among the Gentiles”: Imperial Spain as a Precursor to the Restoration

Matthew Roper

Nephi taught his brethren that “the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles; yea even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be scattered” (1 Nephi 22:7). Some readers of the Book of Mormon have interpreted this as a reference to the United States. While many European groups have participated in scattering indigenous peoples of the New World, the event spoken of by Nephi in 1 Nephi 22:7-8 was to precede the Lord’s “marvelous work” in the latter-days, a matter which does not readily fit the United States in the early nineteenth century (1 Nephi 22:8). This paper will explore the role and significance of imperial Spain in this Pre-Restoration scattering of Lehi’s people. It will present historical evidence for Spain as a nation “raised up” for this purpose, the negative and positive impact of Spanish conquest and control of New World peoples during the three centuries of its governance, and ways in which these events transformed New World cultures. This paper will also discuss the possible significance of Spain’s loss of New World possessions in the early nineteenth century after more than three hundred years near the time of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. While other Gentile nations such as the United States also engaged in scattering Lehi’s people and have and will continue to fulfill a role in Book of Mormon prophecy, this paper will show that Spain is a remarkable fit for Nephi’s “mighty nation” in terms of broad impact and the timing of the Restoration.

Matt has written about this topic before, but each new generation needs to learn anew. One example is this bizarre, self-contradictory article published by Scripture Central back when they were trying to promote M2C.

https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-spain-the-mighty-nation

Here is the relevant passage:

7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be scattered.

8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

9 And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

(1 Nephi 22:7–9)

The first thing to ask is, how can Spain fit the description of a "mighty nation" raised up "upon the face of this land," where "this land" means the place where Nephi lived at the time? Presumably Nephi lived in the New World. (Joseph Smith and Moroni referred to "this country" but let's set that aside for now.)

Spain was a "mighty nation" in Europe even before they sent ships to America. In no sense was it "raised up" in America. It is difficult to characterize any of the countries in Latin America as mighty nations raised up in America that scattered "our seed" because one reason for declaring independence was to cease the scattering of those people.

By contrast, the United States was clearly "raised up" in America in 1776. The same phrase appears here: "And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood."

(Doctrine and Covenants 101:80)

No similar phrase refers to Spain.

Then there is the question of whether "our seed" was scattered by the "mighty nation." It's not really a question. The removal of Indians from the eastern US is well documented. James Monroe removed all of the Indians north of the Ohio River, except in reservations. The infamous "Indian Removal Act" of 1830 coincided with the publication of the Book of Mormon, a specific fulfilment of Nephi's prophecy.

The "marvelous work and a wonder" began with the publication of the Book of Mormon and the first mission to the Lamanites (which modern Church historians reframe as "Indians" or "Native Americans" as if we couldn't all read Sections 28, 30 and 32). Later, in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith met with the displaced Sac and Fox tribes, explaining that the Book of Mormon was a record of their ancestors.

All of this is so obvious that it takes a lot of sophistry to reframe this passage in 1 Nephi 22 as referring to a major European power.

That's why I referred to this conference as an M2C conference.

:)