The churchs position on questions related to book of mormon geography evaluating book of. An article titled debate renewed with change in book of mormon introduction by religion writer carrie a. In our opinion, the second edition of exploring the lands of the book of mormon will be the encyclopedia for the study of the book of mormon history and geography for years to come. Exploring the lands of the book of mormon, by joseph allen, sa publishers, orem, utah, 1989, pp.
An insiders view of mormon origins by grant palmer. Although church members continue to discuss such theories today, the church takes no position on the geography of the book of mormon except. The geographical setting of the book of mormon has been the subject of. 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. It was sold at deseret books for several years and is still available there by special order.
Views on book of mormon geography, privately circulated book of mormon working paper no. They are heirs to the promises of the book of mormon. Sorenson, an ancient ameircan setting for the book of mormon, 2. The topic of horses in the book of mormons depiction of the ancient new world is undoubtedly a controversial one. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of joseph smith, many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement believe that it. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and. Reply to pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories book. To the lds faithful, the book of mormon is the true historical account of a group of ancient israelites who fled jerusalem prior to the babylonian captivity 600 b. On book of mormon geography in church history neal a. It is altogether probable that these two bookspriests wonders of nature and providence, 1824.
The king james bible view of the hebrews isaiah pray about its. Although geneticists dating of the dna does not correlate with book of mormon times, the x dna haplogroup has its origins in the middle east. Several theories of the origin of the text have emerged. Joseph lovell allen true book of mormon geography lands. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. Comparative summary of several book of mormon lands theories the contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf or the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Thereafter, the books teachings on israelites became a focus for proselyting work among the maori. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. Both of the above papers provide detailed evidence that needs to be part of future debates on this topic. Claims the narrow neck of land is the isthmus of tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of mesoamerica.
All in all, i found pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Over the past thirty years, an enormous amount of research has been conducted into mormon originsjoseph smiths early life, the book of mormon, the. The story of how it came about is rather fantastic, after all, and the simplest explanation is that the book was a deliberate deception.
Welcome to our project to crowd source the origins of the book of mormon, a controversial text published in 1830. Evidence of ancient egyptian and hebrew in the book of mormon, in brent lee metcalfe, ed. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Some believe that the history depicted in the book of mormon occurred. Explorations in critical methodology salt lake city. The introduction was not a part of the original book as translated by joseph smith jr.
The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. 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. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. In fawn brodies telling phrase, there is a savagely cynical account by one of josephs early confidants, peter ingersoll, about the origins of the book of mormon. By taking a brief journey through several centuries of speculation, not only about the origins of the indians, but also about the migrations of other early peoples, we can place the book of mormon into perspective, see it as a development from the theories which preceded it, and understand why it exists. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. Thus, there are varying theories regarding the geography of the book of mormon.
Book of mormon archaeology in north america july 26, 2010 the lost civilizations of north america is a powerful film that gives answers to the question of why we havent heard about the great civilizations that existed on the north american continent and why theories about their origins have passed out. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography states that the book of mormon events primarily occurred in the heartland of north america. Among the clearest internal evidences of the book of mormons ancient origins are the large number of characteristically hebrew literary structures. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978. The primary source of smiths latterday revelation is the book of mormon, and to fully understand his role as the founder of the mormon faith, one must also understand the book of mormon and how it came to be.
Only recently has the true history of the highly advanced hopewell mound. Joseph smith preaches book of mormon to cousin lemuel some further discussion in the following overview, i will go through the book of mormon, and present some theories which link the history provided there, to what i perceive to have been a viking invasion c. Determining the geographical location of these lands is a necessary first step before archaeology proper can be employed to evaluate the book of mormon, as mormon archaeologists acknowledge. Comparative summary of several book of mormon lands.
The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. The book of mormon includes a history of an ancient people who migrated from. The hill cumorah in ontario county ny is the hill where joseph smith found the golden plates and is the same hill where the civilizations of the nephites cumorah and the jaredites ramah fought their last battles. The book of mormon is a record written by such prophets in the new world, covering with one more ancient exception a time span of 600 b. Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica.
There are times when there is not the opportunity to get a clear understanding of what the traveler saw and these bulletins will help with that understanding. Book of mormon archaeology in north america the lost. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. Although hard evidence is available to consider, so far no incontrovertible proof of book of mormon horses existsthat is to say, physical remains conclusively dated to around 500 bc and earlier from supposed book of mormon. When i first encountered the book of mormon, i assumed it was a hoax. Miraculous origins theories generally accept joseph smiths own account, that he translated an ancient record compiled and abridged by mormon, a precolumbian resident of the western hemisphere. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon was available to joseph smith and contained enough parallel material to the book of mormon so as to furnish a virtual groundplan for it. He concludes that none of these alternative theories of book of mormon origins accounts for the facts of the case nearly as well as the original account given by joseph smith and the other witnesses. As latterday saints know, making the two meet is no easy task.
As francis kirkham, an lds missionary to the maori in the 1890s remembered, we would go to them, hold up a copy of the book of mormon and tell them that we had a. Garth norman, bookofmormon geography study on the narrow neck of land region, privately circulated book of mormon geography working paper no. The maya and the olmec have a written languagea requirement for book of mormon peoples, who kept records. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The book of mormon is consistent with recorded old testament history according to christs recorded words to the nephites in the book of mormon, there are only two covenant lands of promise for the house of israel. Roberts on the view of the hebrews parallels with the book of mormon emphasis mine. Mesoamerica is the site of the only literate precolumbian population. The book of mormon is more than a history book of two ancient civilizations, it reveals the covenant land of joseph, the favorite son of jacob, israel who was sold into egypt by his brothers that being the promised land of america. The first edition of exploring the lands of the book of mormon was published in 1989 and has been an overwhelming success. Book of mormon geography new england theory mormonism.
The final test of our views of book of mormon geography will be archaeological. Purpose of the book of mormon tour helps these single page descriptions of a specific book of mormon site are designed to provide pertinent information to the traveler about the site. And to the nephites, and the jacobites, and the josephites, and the zoramites, through the testimony of their fathersand this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the lamanites, and the lemuelites, and the ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief. Unconventional book of mormon geography theories mormon. A challenge to origins of the book of mormon and joseph smith. As latterday saints we have always believed that the polynesians are descendants of lehi and blood relatives of the american indians, despite the contrary theories of other men petersen 457.
The objective is not to find the most correct meaning for each passage of the book of mormon, but to find the most likely sources which joseph smith remixed to create the book of mormon. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e. Some claim that sidney rigdon authored the book of mormon, and conspired with joseph smith well ahead of time to compose it and start a religion. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. A radically different book of mormon geography theory. See more ideas about book of mormon, america and ancient civilizations. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Book of mormon origins gold plates witnesses translation lost 116 pages archaeology locations bountiful hill cumorah nahom authorship 5,000 changes absurdities kjv style wordiness anachronisms plagiarized. The book of mormon mentions geography in these passages. Venice priddis has achieved this in a remarkable piece of detection which produces a unique geographical setting.
Pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories deseret news. Hagoth and the polynesians religious studies center. Mormons originally thought that the book of mormon peoples covered the entire north and south america. Midgley leads out in the analysis of the authorship debate in part 2 with a concise history of the alternative theories advanced by those who reject joseph smiths account of book of mormon origins.
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. Critical theories that sidney rigdon was a book of mormon author or coconspirator summary. Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. Importantly, what this statement did not say was that any one theory of the book of mormons setting was correct or incorrect. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into it ancient location, but are all too often disappointed. Unfortunately, the literature about joseph smith and the book of mormon is permeated with contradiction and controversy. The book of mormon presents a different problem for josephs detractors than does his first vision. The exact location of the book of mormon history has not been revealed by prophets to members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints sometimes erroneously referred to as mormons. The lineages are listed precisely in the same order as they appear in the book of mormon. Variations of this theory only include that the text is a divinely inspired narrative, regardless of its.
May discusses correlations between book of mormon armor and that found among the hopewell mound building civilization of north america which existed during book of mormon time frames, such as headplates, breastplates, arm shields, and massive gravesites. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Every one of us started as believing that the book of mormon was an ancient historical document translated from gold plates, and this is where weve come, said metcalfe, a technical editor in the computer industry. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography. Here is more evidence showing that the lamanites of the book of mormon are in north america not mezoamerica as published in our book several years ago. Book of mormon and the ruinsthe main issues hugh nibley. The book of mormon, like the bible, contains a record of gods dealings with a part of the house of israel. Any scholar should create a map before trying to locate it in the real world. Update on horses in the book of mormon a mormon blog. Precolumbian remains of horses in the americas raise the possibility that horses were present for a while in book of mormon lands during book of mormon times.
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