This is not the case in america where occurred the. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book. North american book of mormon geography the interpreter. Book of mormon great lakes geography jump to subtopic.
The book of mormon heartland model is a model proposed by rod meldrum which places the entirety of book of mormon narrative in the eastern united states of america. This organization, as did the much larger utah mormon church and many smaller divisions, developed as a. Book of mormon geography in north america wayne may. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described. Mormon heretic june 1, 2009 book of mormon, geography, mormon 42 comments a few weeks ago, we had quite a discussion on the malay theory. I have watched more than 20 hours of wayne may book of mormon lecture videos and conversed with both wayne may and rod meldrum in person. Although i think the essay is a step in the right direction because it takes the perceived thumb of the church off the m2c scale, im not oblivious to the problems it raises. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. 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 york state where. The author of this paper was born into a family which belonged to the reorganized church of jesus christ of latter day saints with headquarters in independence, missouri. An overzealous individual trying to expand his version of missionary work had an assistant, even the brother of joseph smith, and the two succeeded despite numerous. Similar uses of the word pass in the book of mormon, describe something far narrower than the breadth of the heartland models latest narrow pass.
A whole bunch of reasons why book of mormon geography could not have included north america 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. A whole bunch of reasons why book of mormon geography. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, members and leaders. 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. 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.
Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. The purpose of this article is not to propose a theory regarding these issues, but rather to analyze. The one and only river mentioned in the entire book of mormon is called the sidon. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. With strategic cities identified and a strong sense of spatial relations, he analyzed the geographic descriptions in the book of mormon using some new paradigms to solve such. A discussion of the arabian, or old world, geography of the book of mormon enjoys many advantages over discussion of new world matters. Traveling from the land of desolation in the north, to the land southward, we encounter the principal book of mormon lands of bountiful, zarahemla, and nephi. Interesting as these matters may be, study of the book of mormon is most rewarding when one focuses on its primary purpose.
The book of mormon is a story of a group of people who left the middle east circa 600 bc and landed somewhere in north, south or central america. I believe this could lead us to a more common understanding of this issue. Others argued for a setting in the american heartland. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. Rodney meldrum, dna evidence for book of mormon geography. The heartland is the place where it all happened, right under our very noses. I have a large library of religious books, but the annotated edition of the book of mormon is the most technicolored, highfidelity, highdefinition, highlyresearched, testimonybuilding, multidimensional rollercoaster ride through the religious history. 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. I shall write these posts, or discussion headings, under the main title. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. The book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered. It really arose as a counterbalance to the problems inherent in the limited mesoamerican model. 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. Here wayne may gives us more information on the hopewellnephite comparison that for so long has been lost from us.
In alma 14, alma and amulek were stripped naked and suffered many days. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Published in the same issue as the unsigned zarahemla article october 1842 with its anachronistic claims. Chief among these is the fact that we know we certainty where the story beginsin old world jerusalem. Book of mormon geography the encyclopedia of mormonism. Videos watch past wayne may presentations as he reveals the supporting evidences of the book of mormon as found in archaeology, geography and historical records. The articles linked below will describe the various theories. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. Critique of a limited geography for book of mormon events. Book of mormon geography problems life after ministries. A heartland book of mormon exploration the millennial star.
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 nature of historical proof. It, therefore, is an important geographical indicator. Regarding point 1, i have read all of sorensons works and most of what farms and the maxwell institute have. Meldrum, dna evidence for book of mormon geography dvd, 2003 and. A south american setting for book of mormon mormon matters. This article describes the origin of the myth that the book of mormon events occurred in south america. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. Hamblin, basic methodological problems with the antimormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon, journal of book of mormon studies 2, no. Summary of problems with rod meldrums heartland theory. A lot of exciting fluff on book of mormon geography is being discovered, but substance is still lacking.
The geographical setting of the book of mormon has been the subject of. The name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures. Lunds book joseph smith and the geography of the book of mormon. Today, the lds church is most prevalent in the united states, latin america, canada, europe, the. I have a problem with believers who insist the book of mormon is an ancient mesoamerican text when such a claim requires distorting and misleading statements about both the content of the book of mormon. 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.
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 mormon with archaeology. This book introduces the reader to an authoritative hierarchy of internal and external witnesses beginning with the 36 prophecies and promises that its ancient writers originally intended latterday readers to use in identifying the promised land of their day. State of affairs since publication of the book of mormon in 1830, readers have questioned where it all happened. Close readings of the book of mormon indicate a warm climate with no mention of getting cold. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. This would have been approximately ninetysix days later. Pate employed his talents for problem solving to trace ancient place names in central america to book of mormon cities using the same methods. Gospel topics essay problems i keep hearing complaints about the gospel topics essay on book of mormon geography. 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.
Executive summary of the annotated edition of the book of. Aston and others have settled the arabian geography question in the minds of most latterday saints. Comparing book of mormon geography models mormon lds. 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. Because the great lakes and mesoamerican models are by far the two most. Moronis america the book of mormon in north america. An entirely new approach to the study of book of mormon geography. While i heartily acknowledge that mesoamerica is the most widely believed setting, there are many other theories out there.
Dna science gives strong indication that some native americans. The material below covers the geography of the book of mormon in north america. The church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to book of mormon geography, as is fairmormon. The debate on book of mormon geography is heated, but is it. This date corresponds to around the first week of january. In these letters he describes important events relative to the coming forth of the book of mormon and the early history of joseph smith. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book. In late 1834 to early 1835 oliver cowdery wrote a series of letters for the mormon newspaper the messenger and advocate.
An ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city. The book of mormon does not say that the entire land northward resides in land occupied by the united states of america. I keep hearing complaints about the gospel topics essay on book of mormon geography. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i.
Neal rappleyes article, war of words and tumult of opinions. New scientific support for the truthfulness of the book of mormon. This executive summary of the firm foundations new annotated edition of the book of mormon henceforth aebom is written in response to many inquiries book of mormon central has received about the volume, and to report in a concise, objective manner its many glaring deficiencies. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Book of mormon prophecies involving the united states. Another recent publication in the interpreter focuses on that point.
The mormon geography problem chapter and verse by robert a. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is. Joseph smiths statements regarding book of mormon geography. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. Lost civilizations of north america documentary4, deborah bolnick on haplogroup x. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. Book of mormon geography in north america the products services offered by wayne may are neither made, provided, approved nor endorsed by intellectual reserve, inc. Wayne may presents archaeological support of the book of mormon to a group in malad, idaho in february of 2017. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith. Conversely, ed goble once believed that book of mormon events. We read about a narrow neck, a narrow neck of land, a small neck of land, a narrow pass, a narrow passage, and a narrow strip of wilderness. Speaking of the book s history and geography, president russell m. Although saudi and us geological surveys have concluded that saudi arabia.
He received his bs from weber state university, his ma from brigham young university, and his phd from the university of. While olivers letters are an important historical resource, and while they capture olivers deeply moving testimony of. In 1841 joseph smith read stephens incidents of travel in central america. Correlation and verification through dna, prophetic, scriptural, historical, climatological, archaeological, social, and cultural evidence rodney meldrum, 2007, mailorder dvd. Basic methodological problems with the antimormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon william j. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand.
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