Dan McClellan on the documentary hypothesis and Book of Mormon historicity
Dan McClellan, the Scripture Translation Supervisor for the LDS Church, was asked:
What are your thoughts on the historicity of the Book of Mormon in light of your understanding of the documentary hypothesis?
On August 3, 2021, he responded:
Thank you for the question. This is probably the biggest challenge that’s facing Latter-day Saint apologists these days. How can they account for the Book of Mormon as a translation while also confronting the indisputable fact that it quotes from Biblical passages that were composed centuries after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem with the Brass Plates, and even more challenging that it quotes directly from the King James version of those passages including some translation errors and idiosyncrasies unique to the King James version? Some scholars try to discount the Documentary Hypothesis or Deutero Isaiah as a way to side-step the challenge. That has not ultimately proven to be successful—I don’t think it can be. I think apologists are going to have to confront the fact that Joseph Smith played a role in the articulation of the text in some way, shape, or form.