Ostler proposes that Joseph Smith translated an ancient source while expanding it with inspired explanations addressing nineteenth-century religious questions. He argues that both ancient literary forms and modern theological material belong in an account of the book’s origins, and that revelation is mediated through human language and understanding.
- Blake T. Ostler, “The Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 20, no. 1 (1987): 66–123.
The result is a modern world view and theological understanding superimposed on the Book of Mormon text from the plates.