Book of Mormon Central Copyright Policy

Book of Mormon Central respects intellectual property rights, including copyright. Book of Mormon Central strives to document original sources to the extent possible. Questions such as “Who first came up with this idea?” and “When was this first published” are important in our work. Book of Mormon Central is pioneering new ground in the field of Book of Mormon Studies with its use of digital and social media. Traditional copyright rules are being re-written regularly in today’s world of freely available and frequently shared content. Book of Mormon Central tries to conform to mainstream, generally-accepted best practices in its use of both analog and digital content

Book of Mormon Central Non-Endorsement Policy

Book of Mormon Central strives to make its archive and website a relatively comprehensive repository of scholarship and creativity relevant to the Nephite text. A wide variety of viewpoints are represented. Presence of a particular piece in the archive implies some level of quality in the work, not an endorsement of the author’s viewpoint.

Book of Mormon Central Policy on Book of Mormon Geography – June 2016

Book of Mormon Central at this time is officially geography neutral. We seek deep understanding of the Book of Mormon text. We hope diligent students work together to achieve working consensus on the geographic correlation issue. Until that happens, our selection of exegetical material is guided by these principles:

• In our hierarchy of evidence, the text itself is primary because it is closest to the divine.
• If profound and compelling location-specific insights shed light on the text, we highlight these regardless of their geographic provenience.
• We favor authors with credentials in their areas of interest.
• We favor formally published works from reputable presses.

We welcome good work from any geographic persuasion that is responsive to these principles.

Book of Mormon Central Policy Statement on Independence – January, 2016

Book of Mormon Central (BMC) is an independent non-profit with unpaid directors, full-time staff, part-time freelancers, and many dedicated volunteers. BMC believes the Book of Mormon is an authentic ancient text containing the word of God. We hope everyone affiliated shares that belief. Most are active, faithful Latter-day Saints. Some are members of Restoration Branch or Community of Christ congregations. BMC follows these principles:

• We are not controlled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or BYU in any way. If we make a mistake, we are solely responsible.
• As active members of the LDS Church, we are influenced by it in our personal lives. BMC sustains the Church and its leaders, but is not subject to any direct LDS influence.
• The Church does not monitor our activities. If Church employees look at us from time to time, we hope they like what they see.
• We get no direct support of any kind from the Church. We use images from media.lds.org, but these are available to anyone.
• If we use material copyrighted by the Church, it will be with explicit authorization from the LDS Intellectual Property Office.

Because of the inherently risky nature of our endeavor, we expect to remain independent for the foreseeable future.

Book of Mormon Central Social Media Policy

Joseph Smith emphatically taught, "Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism. [It is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316).  At Book of Mormon Central we strive to represent the very best of professional and personal characteristics in our private and public lives.  The message of the Book of Mormon is so compelling and transformative that we have no need to engage in any form of negative public discourse, including in our professional and private social media accounts.  Our tremendous work is our defense.  We let it speak for itself.  Diligently pursuing our mission is the most powerful and convincing way we can answer any contrary individuals or organizations.