I sat in shock as i read names of valleys and townships that were eerily similar to names i knew were in the book of mormon. The nephites filled north amerca and the lamanites filled south america. Includes nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names and major features. An analysis of the limited geography theory since the advent of the book of mormon in 1830, interested observers and believers have proposed various theories regarding its development, origin, and possible historical significance and setting. H38 virus true book of mormon geography lands western.
Book of mormon geography problems life after ministries. Narrow neck of land, narrow strip of wilderness, narrow pass, oceans. Greek and latin words and other problems in the book of mormon part 1. Home book of mormon science, ancient history, and the book of mormon national geographic society statement on the book of mormon national geographic society statement on the book of mormon language.
The purpose of this article is not to propose a theory regarding these issues, but rather to analyze. Smith points out that the 360day year of mesoamerica seems to solve the problem nicely, and argues that what critics saw as a gaffe actually adds to the plausibility of the book of mormon as an. The ancient near east journal of book of mormon studies, vol. Perhaps the internet simply exposes a larger number of opinions that used. After several months of intense careful study of the text i have put together the following proposed map, showing the relative positions of book of mormon lands, cities, rivers, etc. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography problems life after ministry. Smiths first vision accounts, his translations, and book of mormonrelated geography.
Book of mormon geography march 6, 2018 enter your password to view comments. Hugh nibley and book of mormon geography by kirk magleby. It is a book of scripture aimed at teaching people about christ and how to find happiness through the gospel. A reaction to the churchs recent essay on book of mormon. Basic methodological problems with the anti mormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon william j.
This book of mormon map along with a wall map are available for down loading in color and the book of mormon geography book a promised land, the land of promise with all the mormon maps and details is also available at alpha publishing at. They far exceed the heartland models in their ability to synthesize the text with known archaeology. The opening post is based on what i feel the spirit of the lord witnessed to my heart and mind. Those individuals close to smith during the period of book of mormon creation concede that. Mormons believe joseph smith found gold plates engraved with writing.
Anti mormon criticisms of the book of mormon are frequently based on a questionable set of assumptions concerning the nature of historical and archaeological evidence, the role of governing presuppositions, and the nature of historical proof. State of affairs since publication of the book of mormon in 1830, readers have questioned where it all happened. Although the book of mormon is primarily a religious record of the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites, enough geographic details are embedded in the narrative to allow reconstruction of at. The book of mormon is not intended to be a history book or a guide to geography, science, or any other secular topic. Sorenson does an excellent job in showing the requirements of the book of mormon volume and the antiquity of a limited geography model among latterday saints, contra critics who claim it is nothing short of a construct by sorenson from the 1980s and a mormon tactic to protect the book of mormon from alleged archaeological problems. Mormons clues, a new look at book of mormon geography, 2006 internet edition 2001, james warr. The key to book of mormon geography is the narrow neck of land.
For example, critics of mormonism have shown convincing proof that the book of mormon is a synthesis of earlier works written by other men, of the vivid imaginings of joseph smith, and of plagiarisms from the king james bible. He received his bs from weber state university, his ma from brigham young university, and his phd from the university of. Holley emphasizes that book of mormon geography quite neatly matches the land described in manuscript. The book of mormon itself is the best source for understanding the geographical locations contained therein. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day saint movement scholars that the books narrative was a historical record of people in a limited geographical region, rather than of the entire western hemisphere as believed by some early latter day saints these models, developed in an effort to reconcile claims in the book of. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. While some of these sources treat book of mormon geography in only the vaguest generalities, others make very specific claims on the topic. Thus the sea east becomes lake ontario and the sea west becomes lake erie rather than, as mormons have assumed, the atlantic and pacific oceans. The issue of caffeine at byu highlights generational and geographical. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book.
Greek and latin in the book of mormon life after ministry. Aside from lacking four bodies of water, warr exemplifies how blinded one can become when fixated upon a physical model before extracting the internal. Even though the mormon church formally denies endorsing any geographical theory regarding the location of book of mormon events, its many book of mormon editions, film strips, pamphlets and professors using images and references exclusively of. In may and june 1834 joseph smith led an expedition known as zions camp a paramilitary latter day saint group on a march from kirtland, ohio to jackson county, missouri. Regarding point 1, i have read all of sorensons works and most of what farms and the maxwell institute have. And of course we should all recognize the problem with that type of claim.
Joseph smiths statements regarding book of mormon geography. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each. The two big problems with the mesoamerican model for book of mormon geography are 1 there is zero evidence of the book of mormon narrative there and 2 the proponents insist joseph didnt know much about the book of mormon. National geographic society statement on the book of mormon national geographic society statement on the book of mormon language. Jared, his brother and their friendsa geographical analysis of the book of ether. Ces letter and gospel topics on geography posted february 1, 2019 jonathan neville while the new gospel topics essay on book of mormon geography is an important step towards correcting the errors that have crept in over the ages regarding m2c, as it currently stands, the essay may cause more problems than it solves. Hugh nibley and book of mormon geography book of mormon. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, members and. In 1841 joseph smith read stephens incidents of travel in central america. The only bible that joseph smith relied on was the king james version.
While some latterday saints have looked for possible locations and explanations for book of mormon geography because the new york hill cumorah does not readily fit the book of mormon description of cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the book of mormon text and any specific site. How could smith have come up with all the amazingly complex geography, proceedings, doctrine and story and names of the book of mormon by himself. Beginning in the early 1990s, several latterday saints jumped on the great lakes book of mormon geography bandwagon. Those not willing to accept joseph smiths account of the coming forth of the book of mormon have sought alternative. It, therefore, is an important geographical indicator. He provided his interpretation of over seven hundred verses he deemed relevant to the book of mormon. The two maps below came from a book written by the late vernal holley called book of mormon authorship. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. Mapping book of mormon historicity debates sunstone magazine. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. Comparing book of mormon geography models mormon lds.
Herewith is a copy of my recent 1975 paper on book of mormon matters. Official statement on book of mormon geography and its. Internal book of mormon geography focuses on the relationships between lands and other geographic features, independent of where they might be physically located on todays maps. Nov 17, 20 book of mormon geography problems 111720 by lifeafterministry leaving mormonism and all it entails is a process filled with surprises, shock, disappointments and relief to name a few. Nov 17, 2014 the book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered. The majority of mesoamerican book of mormon geography models seek to correlate the isthmus of tehuantepec or the isthmus of guatemala. Basic methodological problems with the antimormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon william j. Basic methodological problems with the antimormon approach. The book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. Book of mormongeographynew worldgreat lakes geography. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i.
On june 3, while passing through westcentral illinois near griggsville, some bones were unearthed from a mound. National geographic society statement on the book of mormon. Various book of mormon geography theories are depicted in maps containing twodimensional information only. These plates were supposedly written 1,400 years ago and detailed the history of the jewish nephites from 600 b. This history contains information about the places they lived, including descriptions of landforms, natural features, and the distances and cardinal directions between important points. Book of mormon geography in nevillenevilleland book of. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The heartland is the place where it all happened, right under our very noses. This page provides a generic map or schematic diagram of the book of mormon lands, including nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names in the promised land in the americas, without providing any scale, or attempting to relate them to presentday geography or place names the map is adapted from a map by joel hardy from march of 1998, with. Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad.
Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. While some latterday saints have looked for possible locations and explanations for book of mormon geography because the new york hill cumorah does not readily fit the book of mormon description of cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the book of. Below are two maps one is for the book of mormon geography, the other is a. The great strength of the book is that it provides a wellargued perspective based on the geology of natural disasters that is new to the analysis of the book of mormonone that adds to the reality of book of mormon events and opens new doors for potential research and understanding of the geography of the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book.
This page provides a generic map or schematic diagram of the book of mormon lands, including nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names in the promised land in the americas, without providing any scale, or attempting to relate them to presentday geography or place names. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Although the book of mormon is primarily a religious record of the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites, enough geographic details are embedded in the narrative to allow reconstruction of at least a rudimentary geography of book of mormon lands. The book of mormon includes a history of an ancient people who migrated from. As we enter the millennium, it is time to dispel the critics and give them no leg to stand on. The geographical setting of the book of mormon has been the subject of serious study and casual speculation since before the book was first published. The church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to book of mormon geography, as is fairmormon. The one and only river mentioned in the entire book of mormon is called the sidon. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new. The book of mormon includes a history of an ancient people who migrated from the near east to the americas. Ces letter and gospel topics on geography moronis america. Antimormon criticisms of the book of mormon are frequently based on a questionable set of assumptions concerning the nature of historical and archaeological evidence, the role of governing presuppositions, and the. Volumes upon volumes have been written on book of mormon his toricity issues.
Joseph smith and the geography of the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting there have been numerous attempts to locate the long, lost lands of the book of mormon over the years. All lds students of book of mormon geography who have worked systematically with the problem in recent decades have come to agree on this sorenson 1985, 2930. The earlier book of mormon translation essay watered down translation claims in the same way, expressing certainty about translation but ignorance about any of the particulars. The lds church does not get any more specific than the americas, concerning the geography of the book of mormon. Feb 16, 2019 the book of mormon has been met with skepticism since its publication in 1830. However, all of these models however suffer many of the same substantial problems. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into. In addition, the very content of the book of mormon makes it impossible to accept it as divine revelation. Holley composed the book of mormon map through the data he retrieved in josephs description of the area in the book of mormon and compared it with a map of the us and canada from josephs day. It is not enough to find a narrow neck of land, and a northward flowing river somewhere in the americas. Dec 02, 2016 to help with the increasing amount of new information, a blog site has been setup for research relating to the book of mormon lands in baja california. A sourcebook, he laid out his thinking on the subject in detail.
The book of mormon actually contains threedimensional facts about its sacred lands. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. It was one of several presented in a written symposium on book of mormon geography sic. The book is of god, and heeding moronis promise will give a firm testimony of this. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the. Even though the mormon church formally denies endorsing any geographical theory regarding the location of book of mormon events, its many book of mormon editions, film strips, pamphlets and professors using images and references exclusively of the mesoamerican area speaks otherwise. The article should have been titled book of mormon nongeography. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day saint movement scholars that the book s narrative was a historical record of people in a limited geographical region, rather than of the entire western hemisphere as believed by some early latter day saints. Searching for book of mormon ruinswhat should we expect to find. The views expressed on this internet web site are the opinions of the. The mormon geography problem chapter and verse by robert a. A lot of exciting fluff on book of mormon geography is being discovered, but substance is still lacking. In addition to this disavowal, and the churchs insistence that no official geography has been revealed outside the book of mormon text itself, there are textual problems with this claim.
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