Metals and golden plates in mesoamerica, daniel johnsons 2010. I still think there is a serious problem of imprinting a particular geographyeven an abstract onebut if the people involved accept the scripture on faith alone, they may never care about the realworld geography, so a mental abstract map is no problem. Rick shared a very good map from shelby saberon who is a trained mesoamericanist. Aug 23, 2008 science, the book of mormon, and mesoamerica in his excellent book frauds, myths, and mysteries, science and pseudoscience in archaeology, kenneth feder also stresses the importance of questioning. Joseph smiths central america map started in 1842 has finally been completed as mormons mesoamerica map shown here. Sorenson published an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, which lays out the essential arguments for a correspondence between mesoamerica and the book of mormon.
Book of mormon lands map, january 2016 book of mormon. However, when serious book of mormon students first begin with a detailed consideration of the internal map implicit to the book of mormon and then search for a plausible location that fits the book of mormons map, there has consistently been one general result. Some of these maps are included in the annotated book of mormon. John sorenson noted, the firstcenturybc appearance of cement in the book of mormon agrees strikingly with the archaeology of central mexico. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. The number seven was significant to the precolumbian communities of mesoamerica, as it was in the book of mormon. Aug 23, 2008 part of the strength of book of mormon apologetics depends upon carefully qualifying how the book of mormon was translated. Even the hill cumorah, where joseph smith obtained the gold plates, is not really the same hill cumorah mentioned in the text. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in mesoamerica 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. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described.
Why did moroni include mormons condemnation of infant baptism. You may also view pages from the annotated book of mormon now. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. Jul 16, 20 daniel johnson in his 2010 book of mormon archaeological forum presentation. 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. In 1978, the company was known as middle america tours and it became the largest company to conduct tours to the lands of the book of mormon, an area today known as mesoamerica. Discussion regarding the historicity of the book of mormon often focuses on archaeological issues, some of which relate to the large size and the long time span of the civilizations mentioned in the book. The holly map really nailed it for me, too, especially after having read sorensons geographical fiction an ancient american setting for the book of mormon. He is a great teacher, a brilliant scholar, and gifted with a sense of humor. On february 1, 2018, national geographic broke a story about some incredible new discoveries in mesoamerican archaeology using new technology.
Muleks party first arrived in the land north see helaman 6. Five compelling archeological evidences for the book of mormon. Jan 18, 2018 in 1975, he submitted a paper to a symposium about book of mormon geography outlining the failure of archaeologists to find old world plants, animals, metals, and scripts in mesoamerica. America, but the stories told in the bom are primarily centered in mesoamerica. However, when serious book of mormon students first begin with a detailed consideration of the internal map implicit to the book of mormon and then search for a plausible location that fits the book of mormon s map, there has consistently been one general result. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. How does the book of mormon help date the first christmas. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in. This map plausibly positions these and other book of mormon locations in the general mesoamerican arena. Jun 27, 2016 on book of mormon peoples leaving the core nephitelamanite centers and reaching other regions of the americas, see mark alan wright, heartland as hinterland. Now, mormons history record is no longer an unsolvable mystery. The maya and the olmec have a written languagea requirement for book of mormon peoples, who kept records.
Why does the book of mormon include the rise and fall of two nations. Observation and suggestion and hypotheses, therefore, are only the first steps in a scientific investigation. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new york. He has spent almost fifty years in teaching, searching and researching the internal and external messages of that sacred history revered by millions of latterday saints worldwide. Jan 22, 2011 anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Lunds love for history and the book of mormon has taken him to mexico, honduras, belize and guatemala more than twenty times.
How do these new discoveries relate to the book of mormon. The name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model. It incorporates much of what i have learned since this journey began in august, 2011.
Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. It is thorough, covers many aspects of the field, and is probably the most objective work at its time. Following are ten reasons for traveling with us to the lands of the book of mormon. 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. Views on book of mormon geography, privately circulated book of mormon working paper no.
Civilizations of their magnitude and duration would be expected to leave extensive archaeological records. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. For this reason the average reader as well as the student will want to keep a copy of this book near his book of mormon for easy reference. Metals and golden plates in mesoamerica, daniel johnsons 2010 bmaf lecture. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. Jan 12, 2016 this is my best book of mormon lands map to date. Cement in ancient mesoamerica and the book of mormon. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. In addition, the entire story of the book of mormon occurred within a small 500mile radius within mesoamerica.
Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon places. The book and the map will not improve upon the sacred record, but it should certainly help to make the book of mormon story more understandable to the average reader. As mormon edited the book of mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical features that were setting the events described in that book. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and the. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and the seven tribes of mesoamerica diane e.
A pan mesoamerica legend tells of a core people descended from seven tribes, which may coincide with the seven lineages mentioned three times in the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. 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. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. Book of mormon geography the encyclopedia of mormonism. A book that introduces all the requirements of book of mormon lands. The mesoamerican core and north american periphery of book of mormon geography, interpreter. Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful.
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. Welch pointed out that no archeologist in 1829 could have known how accurately the dating of this. Book of mormon geography, lands, map, dna true evidence. Not only have cement structures been identified throughout mesoamerica, but as dr. The traditional view of the translation process is that joseph smith concentrated on the text written on the gold plates, and the power of god somehow told him what those words meant. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. While nothing can take the place of a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the book of mormon, an understanding of the correlating evidence of the book of mormon, especially as it relates to geography, can provide greater appreciation for this inspired book of scripture. It comes with an optional explanatory booklet entitled book of mormon mesoamerican historic geography, and is available online.
Joseph lovell allen true book of mormon geography lands. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is. Such maps can be a useful introduction for those who are new to the book of mormon. The main passage mentions the land of nephi bordering on the seas, a narrow strip of wilderness, the land of zarahemla, and the headwaters of the river sidon see alma 22. I recently returned from 11 days in guatemala where i collaborated with bright people such as mark wright, diane wirth, dave gray, rick callister, van dunham, neal rappleye, stephen smoot, and rolando amado. Middle america tours was the wholesale operators for such companies as byu travel study, murdock travel and the foundation of ancient research in mormon studies. Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. Then more recently north america theories including heartland, etc. Theories of book of mormon lands in mesoamerica showing 11 of 1 messages. Garth normans map book of mormon archaeological forum. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in mesoamerica by. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. On subsequent days, the story was picked up by other major media outlets such as bbc, washington post, npr, the new york times, and.
Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. The purpose of constructing unbiased internal maps is to orient major lands, seas and landmarks mentioned in the. Garth norman, bookofmormon geography study on the narrow neck of land region, privately circulated book of mormon geography working paper no. Joseph lovell allen, educator, author and explorer, is a pioneer in the study of history and geography of mesoamerica and the book of mormon. You will walk away with a greater knowledge and appreciation of mesoamericans and their. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. Publishers, 1989 for the best summary of this entire subject. Considered a sacred number, it represented the seven directions in the. Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica.
Book of mormon in north america maps book of mormon evidence. Without going into too many details, there are 18 points of inaccuracies that i want to highlight about maps of mesoamerica that were published before the book. View the original article at the book of mormon resources blog. Mesoamerica, the region of southern mexico, guatemala, and adjacent nations. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and. Perhaps every book ever written on mesoamerica theories. Kml file is that you can turn on the terrain base map, which is a powerful. Mesoamerica is the site of the only literate precolumbian population. Today, while some individuals still argue for a book of mormon setting in the great lakes region of the united states and canada, 2 most latterday saint scholars acknowledge mesoamerica as the most likely region that matches descriptions found within the book. It uniquely goes about verifying each requirement, step by step. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the shake.
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