[1] Metcalfe believed that his firing was because of a few people in church leadership who perceived him as a threat, even though he viewed his own work as apologetic and not scholarly.
These scholars included Dan Vogel, Stan Larson, David P. Wright, and John Kunich.
The reception of the Mosiah priority theory was gradual, but it is now well accepted by researchers and in scholarly publications about the text.
[7] An entire issue of FARMS Review of Books was devoted to rebuttals of New Approaches, though mostly not to the Mosiah priority theory.
[12] After being fired from his job in security for the LDS Church for his writings, Metcalfe worked first for Steve Christensen and later for Mark Hofmann.
[10] According to Metcalfe, he had written a letter to LDS Church leader Gordon B. Hinckley, disputing the grounds for his termination.
[1] Metcalfe then assisted Hofmann in leaking the existence of the letter to the press, contrary to the wishes of the LDS Church.