However, all of these models however suffer many of the same substantial problems. I now know that the book of mormon happened in the usa in the historic heartland that is such a significant part of american and book of mormon history. Errors of rodney meldrum true book of mormon geography. Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each. If you know anything about book of mormon geography, you know that bountiful is in the land southward. Within the past several decades, professional studies in american archaeology, geography, culture, and language have provided an enormous amount of information of great interest to readers and believers of the book of mormon. Now, there is no place referenced in the book of mormon to anything other than a west sea and an east sea. Pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories deseret news. If the genre is confused, im not sure how this work can rightly be called a great achievement of american literature. Harold bloom is arguably the foremost living scholar of american literature.
Comparing book of mormon geography models mormon lds. An hypothesis as to the social origins and nature of the mormon political kingdom quest for refuge. The greatest classical books of all time american literature. 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. Before we examine some of the possible locations for book of mormon geography however, i would like to stress the fact that as of today, the lord has not revealed where the nephites or lamanites lived, and as such, the lds church has taken no official stance on anything related to book of mormon geography. Book of mormon geography problems life after ministries. Not only this, but he allowed several opinions of north, south, central, and hemispheric geography of the book of mormon to be published, taught, and republished without any. Okay, i can actually accept the fact that god inspired joseph smith to translate the book of mormon. The library includes the greatest books of all time, including.
He spoke to these people, then why did these people christians go back to living native american lifestyles, and not knowing who christ is. Essays on the book of mormon essays on mormonism series metcalfe, brent, vogel, dan on. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, members and leaders. I see that as a problem for archaeology, sorenson said. It is south of the narrow neck, so, with central america being north of the isthmus of panama, there is a problem with the hemispheric theory. 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. Readers of this blog know that i have not made my disapproval of the socalled heartland theory for book of mormon geography a secret. It was first published in 1830 in palmyra, new york, and was thereafter widely reprinted and translated. The hemispheric geography model posits that the events of the book of mormon took place over the entirety of the north and south american continents. The editor writes in the preface to this 1993 book published by signature books, publisher of many pathbreaking works regarding the lds mormon church, fresh intellectual and spiritual vistas have been opened by viewing sacred literature from the vantage of these methods. In 1991, john sorensen of byu, the dean of book of mormon geography, created a book called the geography of book of mormon events. The biggest fallacy or problem i have is, if jesus christ was in america. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church.
Miller author matthew roper when the book of mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals such as swine and cows were out of place. Moby dick, the call of the wild, the prince and the pauper, the red badge of courage, the awakening, little women, the scarlet letter, the secret garden, white fang, babbit, daisy miller, david copperfield, oliver twist and hundreds of other classic novels. Book of mormon geography the encyclopedia of mormonism. Yet the book of mormon is promoted as a story of history, not fiction. New scientific support for the truthfulness of the book of mormon. In reality, he seriously distorts the text to create a map the conforms with his own tehuantepec limited geography theory. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described. 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. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Correlation and verification through dna, prophetic, scriptural, historical, climatological, archaeological, social, and cultural. Watch till the end to see a point by point walk through of mormons description in alma 22 2734. All my studies suddenly made sense, all aspects of the book of mormon finally became clear. Basic methodological problems with the anti mormon approach to the geography and archaeology of the book of mormon william j.
Review of literature on book of mormon geography book of. Joseph smith made several comments concerning book of mormon geography throughout his life which support both a north american setting1, and central american setting. Rodney meldrum, dna evidence for book of mormon geography. Like other national literatures, american literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. The book of mormon contains the record of gods dealings with a branch of the tribes of joseph, who were divinely led to a country far away from the biblical promised land.
No sea directly west of zarahemla no sea directly east of zarahemla stated travel times make it clear book of mormon lands were small. 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. Correlation and verification through dna, prophetic, scriptural, historical, climatological, archaeological, social, and cultural evidence rodney meldrum, 2007, mailorder dvd. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book. One of the frequent laments about mormon literature is that so much of the mormon experience is tied to spiritual experience, which is very difficult to describe in prose. The church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to book of mormon geography, as is fairmormon.
Those who have followed book of mormon scholarship for the past few decades have become aware of problems with this view. Wayne may, publisher of ancient american magazine, talks about willard beans research into the geography of the book of mormon and his book geography of the book of mormon. Why the book of mormon is the great american novel when a jewish author sets off on quest to understand the fantastical foundational text of. The book of mormon has excited very little enthusiasm outside of mormonism, but it is a uniquely american piece of writing that merits wider attention. The book of mormon is not intended to be a history book or a guide to geography, science, or any other secular topic. They far exceed the heartland models in their ability to synthesize the text with known archaeology. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of.
Hemispheric geography theory lds have traditionally interpreted the text hemispherically and assumed a blank continent. Any study of book of mormon geography must strictly adhere to criteria that do not alter the book of mormon text, the proposed map, nor established scientific dating systems. Generations of mormons grew up with the notion that american indians are descended from a lost tribe from the house of israel, offspring of a book of mormon figure named lehi, who left jerusalem and sailed to the americas around 600 b. Sorenson bemoans in his book an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, claiming that we can only hope that some future findings. Book of mormongeographynew worldgreat lakes geography. Over 400 classic books and novels you can read free online. 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 biggest problem with the book of mormon religious forums.
According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. National geographic society statement on the book of mormon. A fine line divides scripture from nonscripture, writes robert m. An approach to the book of mormon geography from the sea west to the sea eastthe orientation of the book of mormon lands to the sea updated the narrow strip of wildernessspatial features, orientation and recorded journeys. Scriptures comprise a large part of the literature of the world. Phyllis carol olive, lost lands of the book of mormon, 83. 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.
Regarding point 1, i have read all of sorensons works and most of what farms and the maxwell institute have. The book of mormon itself is the best source for understanding the geographical locations contained therein. Since there is a lack of archaeological or historical evidence for support, the book of mormon does not live up to its billing. The location of lands, oceans, rivers, mountain ranges, and boundaries in relationship to distances and relative positions in the book of mormon must match. A radically different book of mormon geography theory. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into it ancient location, but are all too often disappointed. The acceptance of the limited geography model by lds scholars is now supported by a growing body of work that attempts to apply a fleshandblood reality to the cultures in the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography in joseph smiths day book of. Mormon authors facing that problem could learn a trick or two from stephen king.
This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Have any nonmormon scholars seriously analyzed the book. The majority of mesoamerican book of mormon geography models seek to correlate the isthmus of tehuantepec or the isthmus of guatemala. For almost a century and a half, america was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the north american continentcolonies from which a few hardy souls. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book. The system of writing that is typical for mesoamerica is all of the egyptian style. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. The reason people have focused on the book of mormon people landing and residing on the north american continent is because of what smith wrote in his testimony. This page is about the book of mormon geography by rodney meldrum and has the same deficiencies as wayne may, jonathan neville, and other heartland modelers.
Lds critics maintain that the bom is a work of fiction created in the 19th century. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Of course these inconsistencies could readily be explained by understanding the book of mormon as a work of fiction written by a nineteenth century american, but book of mormon scholars often approach the topic with the a priori acceptance of the theory that the book of mormon is. There are books that are not in the bible that are as powerful and authoritative as anything in the canon. By corollary many mormons believe that the three groups mentioned in the book of mormon jaredites, nephites, and lamanites exclusively populated an empty north and south american continent, and. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. 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 opinions, speakers and presenters represent and express their own individual opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of firm foundation, book of mormon evidence, or its employees, and no information or opinions represent the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Hundreds of different geographic descriptions in the book of mormon such as two.
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