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. Sorenson, an ancient ameircan setting for the book of mormon, 2. As latterday saints know, making the two meet is no easy task. Garth norman, bookofmormon geography study on the narrow neck of land region, privately circulated book of mormon geography working paper no.
Mormons originally thought that the book of mormon peoples covered the entire north and south america. Several theories of the origin of the text have emerged. 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. 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. 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. The first edition of exploring the lands of the book of mormon was published in 1989 and has been an overwhelming success. The lineages are listed precisely in the same order as they appear in the book of mormon. They are heirs to the promises of the book of mormon. 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. All in all, i found pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories.
Thereafter, the books teachings on israelites became a focus for proselyting work among the maori. Over the past thirty years, an enormous amount of research has been conducted into mormon originsjoseph smiths early life, the book of mormon, the. Thus, there are varying theories regarding the geography of the book of mormon. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into it ancient location, but are all too often disappointed. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. The book of mormon mentions geography in these passages. Evidence of ancient egyptian and hebrew in the book of mormon, in brent lee metcalfe, ed. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. An insiders view of mormon origins by grant palmer. When i first encountered the book of mormon, i assumed it was a hoax. On book of mormon geography in church history neal a. It was sold at deseret books for several years and is still available there by special order.
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. The geographical setting of the book of mormon has been the subject of. The final test of our views of book of mormon geography will be archaeological. An article titled debate renewed with change in book of mormon introduction by religion writer carrie a. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Venice priddis has achieved this in a remarkable piece of detection which produces a unique geographical setting. 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. Book of mormon and the ruinsthe main issues hugh nibley.
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. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. 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. Although church members continue to discuss such theories today, the church takes no position on the geography of the book of mormon except. 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. 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.
Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book. 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. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. The book of mormon includes a history of an ancient people who migrated from. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. Some believe that the history depicted in the book of mormon occurred. 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. See more ideas about book of mormon, america and ancient civilizations.
Mesoamerica is the site of the only literate precolumbian population. 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. Only recently has the true history of the highly advanced hopewell mound. Book of mormon archaeology in north america the lost. Unconventional book of mormon geography theories mormon. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. 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. 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. 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. Pros, cons of book of mormon geography theories deseret news.
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. 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. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. Unfortunately, the literature about joseph smith and the book of mormon is permeated with contradiction and controversy. Any scholar should create a map before trying to locate it in the real world.
Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica. 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. 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 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.
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. It is altogether probable that these two bookspriests wonders of nature and providence, 1824. Welcome to our project to crowd source the origins of the book of mormon, a controversial text published in 1830. 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. 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. A challenge to origins of the book of mormon and joseph smith. Update on horses in the book of mormon a mormon blog. Explorations in critical methodology salt lake city.
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 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. The churchs position on questions related to book of mormon geography evaluating book of. Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978. Importantly, what this statement did not say was that any one theory of the book of mormons setting was correct or incorrect. Exploring the lands of the book of mormon, by joseph allen, sa publishers, orem, utah, 1989, pp. 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.
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. Both of the above papers provide detailed evidence that needs to be part of future debates on this topic. The king james bible view of the hebrews isaiah pray about its. The book of mormon, like the bible, contains a record of gods dealings with a part of the house of israel. 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. The topic of horses in the book of mormons depiction of the ancient new world is undoubtedly a controversial one. Views on book of mormon geography, privately circulated book of mormon working paper no. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and.
Variations of this theory only include that the text is a divinely inspired narrative, regardless of its. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography. Joseph lovell allen true book of mormon geography lands. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography new england theory mormonism. 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. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. A radically different book of mormon geography theory. The introduction was not a part of the original book as translated by joseph smith jr.
Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. 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. Some believe that the history depicted in the book of mormon occurred in north america, while others believe that it occurred in central america or south america. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. 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. The story of how it came about is rather fantastic, after all, and the simplest explanation is that the book was a deliberate deception. Hagoth and the polynesians religious studies center. 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. Roberts on the view of the hebrews parallels with the book of mormon emphasis mine. Critical theories that sidney rigdon was a book of mormon author or coconspirator summary. Among the clearest internal evidences of the book of mormons ancient origins are the large number of characteristically hebrew literary structures. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. 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.
275 1124 595 108 1519 817 609 1054 1565 337 909 983 621 111 85 331 185 696 150 1298 1259 348 800 466 1348 892 814 18 66 593 108 397 15 4 105 31 467 1254 384 446