It was established in July 2012 by the Interpreter Foundation withDaniel C. Peterson as foundingeditor-in-chief.[3][4] Peterson had previously been the founding editor of theFARMS Review, which in 2011 had been renamed theMormon Studies Review (MSR) by the heads of theMaxwell Institute (MI). TheMSR launched soon after Peterson's release from MI without direct apologetics as one of their goals.[5][4] Peterson believed that direct apologetics was a necessary feature of a publication like theMSR while others did not. This philosophical difference between Peterson and the editors of theMSR led to the creation of the Interpreter Foundation, which retained apologetic content.[5]
The Interpreter Foundation sponsors debates and discussions. These have included two symposia focused on the relationship between science andMormonism.[6] The journal publishes historical surveys, responses to critics, book reviews, personal essays, and other scholarly literature, all with the primary goals of increasing understanding of Latter-day Saint scripture and religion as well as defending it.[3][7]
In 2013, a critical review ofMormon Stories by Gregory L. Smith was published inInterpreter. In the review, Smith alleges that "Dehlin is frequently uninformed of the often controversial material he discusses with interviewees, and that he promotes views hostile to the foundational beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".[8][9] The pending publication of the piece catalyzed within theMormon studies community a discussion (referred to by some as theDehlin affair)[10][11][12] about the roles of apologetic and non-faith-based scholarship, respectively, within the academic study of Mormonism by Mormons.[13][14][15]
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