In this same year, the name of the company was changed from middle america tours to book of mormon tours. If were looking for the book of mormon culture described by the text, were not looking for a culture that built with massive stones, engraved their history on stella, etc. He is a great teacher, a brilliant scholar, and gifted with a sense of humor. Best evidence for the book of mormon some interesting researchtheories that propose that the book of mormon people actually settled in north america not southcentral america. Is this an original book of mormon map by joseph smith. The 10th annual book of mormon lands symposium was held in salt lake city to discuss the research and discoveries most recently made supporting the mesoamerican setting of the events of the book. Meldrum, titled book of mormon evidence has taken 8 years of intensive research, 3 years of filming and 9 months of editing to bring together the most compelling evidence supporting the validity of the book of mormon ever assembled. His knowledge of the history of book of mormon in relation to mesoamerica is admirable. In this page, i discuss the recent discoveries in mesoamerica which have caused a complete paradigm shift. Mesoamerica, the region of southern mexico, guatemala, and adjacent nations. Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica.
Made popular by his 1985 publication an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, sorensons geographic model for the book of mormon has withstood the test of time and remains the preeminent geographic model for book of mormon events. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. In addition, the entire story of the book of mormon occurred within a small 500mile radius within mesoamerica. Lund is a motivational speaker, author, tour guide, scholar and consultant. Civilizations of their magnitude and duration would be expected to leave. 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. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology. Garth normans map book of mormon archaeological forum. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography.
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. Five compelling archeological evidences for the book of mormon. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in. Such maps can be a useful introduction for those who are new to the book of mormon. Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. Roper here poses a question that has become relevant only because of the maxwell institutes insistence that the book of mormon took place in mesoamerica. It is thorough, covers many aspects of the field, and is probably the most objective work at its time. A memorable book of mormon lands tour guatemala, honduras, belize and mexico 11 days10 nights day 1 fri. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. And now i, moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the lord upon the face of this north country. The three authors of an lds guide to mesoamerica, walk us through the lands of 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. Hemispheric models take specific, named cities in the book of mormon and disperse them far and wide across the whole of north and south america. Tres zapotes is close to where the final jaredite and nephite battles are believed to have been fought. Why did moroni include mormons condemnation of infant baptism. This map plausibly positions these and other book of mormon locations in the general mesoamerican arena. Archaeological and historical evidence jareditesolmecs.
This page is a supplement to my book of mormon evidences page. 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. Designed for multiple use as study guides, handouts, and masters for creating projectable images, the charts convey a wealth of information that will enrich personal study and. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text. The name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic model in. A comparison of book of mormon geographies showing new york to be the most viable setting for book of mormon events. The purpose of this article and the one to follow is to sketch a few vivid examples of changes in how some latterday saint scholars view the book of mormon in the light of new theories and discoveries about the past. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. Mirador and ammonihahangola correlate culturally and chronologically, as do santa rosa and zarahemla. Only known nephite cement is in new york, not mesoamerica.
Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. In my view, this is a hoax because they are not relying on the text. In 2002, the book called sacred sites, authored by joseph was published. Archaeological sites in mesoamerica book of mormon central. Why does the book of mormon include the rise and fall of two nations. This map shows what some think as original settings for the book of mormon. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the. Not only have cement structures been identified throughout mesoamerica, but as dr. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. Popular mesoamerica books meet your next favorite book. I am very much a proponent of a more limited geography, and i believe the best available evidence places the core narrative of the book of mormon squarely in mesoamerica. Muleks party first arrived in the land north see helaman 6. Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978. Publishers, 1989 for the best summary of this entire subject.
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. How does the book of mormon help date the first christmas. Ever since it was first published in 1830, claiming to contain the word of god as recorded by precolombian americans in a golden bible, it has had its passionate defenders and equally adamant critics. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology book of. 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. He said nothing about the people in the latin america or even the western u.
Interactive book of mormon map virtual book of mormon. Byu library, an account of our book of mormon lands tour, 27 january to 16 february 1961. Book of mormon geography book of mormon, mormon, the. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology the book of mormon is a highly controversial book in the light of mesoamerican archeology.
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. Lunds love for history and the book of mormon has taken him to mexico, honduras, belize and guatemala more than twenty times. 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. These articles are not intended to be an expression of official church teachings, but on. And i take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of limhi, which is called the book of ether. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place.
A contemporary mormon view is that these civilizations rose and fell in mesoamerica. Anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon. Based on the reasons i listed above as well as others, i currently favor a mesoamerica setting for book of mormon geography, similar to the map presented below. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. I had the pleasure of being amongst many on a tour to mesoamerica with john lund. That map and its notes fits in with the moroniinmanti story, but goes much, much farther than snows claim, seeming to indicate that not only did moroni visit the future site of manti, but also of salt lake city, various places in missouri, nauvoo, and kirtland presumably dedicating all of them as sites of future temples before depositing the book of mormon. Because of their own interpretation of the text of the book of mormon.
I purchased this book a few days prior to leaving, had it personalized and signed by him, and read it before, during, and after my adventure in the book of mormon lands. It comes with an optional explanatory booklet entitled book of mormon mesoamerican historic geography, and is available online. If you arent familiar with the book of mormon, please see my book of mormon introduction page and get your own free copy at. In fact, in a thousand years of history, exactly one engraved stone is even mentioned omni 1. New revelations of the americas before columbus by charles c. Welch pointed out that no archeologist in 1829 could have known how accurately the dating of this. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Shown here are various archaeological sites in mesoamerica that may correspond to book of mormon places.
Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon. The book of mormon and defensive fortifications in mesoamerica. I would recommend that the reader keep a book of mormon map close by such as the one shown above the next time you read through the book of mormon. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Even the hill cumorah, where joseph smith obtained the gold plates, is not really the same hill cumorah mentioned in the text. John sorenson noted, the firstcenturybc appearance of cement in the book of mormon agrees strikingly with the archaeology of central mexico. Book of mormon charts charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. The maya and the olmec have a written languagea requirement for book of mormon peoples, who kept records. They discuss early church assumptions as to where the people of the book of mormon lived, and then discuss the plausible locale that is theorized by most lds scholars today. 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. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Claims the narrow neck of land is the isthmus of tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of mesoamerica. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. 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.
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