Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Overview of book of mormon geography and church history. Although church members continue to discuss such theories today, the churchs only position is that the events the book of mormon describes took place in the ancient americas. Book of mormon lands map, january 2016 book of mormon. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. According to joseph smith and subsequent presidents and apostles of the lds church, the geographical extent of book of mormon lands included virtually all of north and south america. Practically since the book of mormon was published, its geography has been the subject of discussion and debate. Study until you know book of mormon history, and its religion, are true. 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. Such maps can be a useful introduction for those who are new to the book of mormon. Many of her photos were also included in our book, exploring the lands of the book of mormon. Sheryl lee wilson has traveled throughout mesoamerica with a keen eye capturing on film the essence of americas greatest civilizations. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. The central america theories just never made sense.
Book of mormon evidence in american archaeology wayne may. Temple dedicatory prayerslamanites in south, central. 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. Phelps, and the pratt brothers speculated about a setting in central andor south america. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. 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. Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. Despite the limited space on the plates, mormonas a historian and. In 1841 joseph smith read stephens incidents of travel in central america. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning.
The purpose of constructing unbiased internal maps is to orient major lands, seas and landmarks mentioned in the text, and estimate relative. The material below covers the geography of the book of mormon in north america. The book of mormon talks about a sea east and a sea west. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. 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. The scientific search for nephite remains mormons in. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic.
It is interesting that mormon reverses his couplets in line 5. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described. 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. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. Mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text after years of intensive study. Central america, or guatimala guatemala, is situated north of the isthmus of darien and once embraced several hundred miles of territory from north to south. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. Possible book of mormon sites in relation to each other. Maps the north american setting for the book of mormon. The best book on book of mormon geography i have ever read. He also taught them that moroni had traveled from central america to palmyra, newyork dedicating future temple sites along the way. Mormon describes that wilderness in line 5 which features reiterations of couplets e and f as originally found in line 2 and as reiterated a second time in line 8. No effort should be made to identify points on this map with any existing geographical location.
Years later, joseph smith received a book on central american ruins as a gift. 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. Book of mormon geography the encyclopedia of mormonism. Mormons map is revealing genuine book of mormon history as antiquities. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia.
Represents god sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand key. This fuller understanding helps make sense of joseph smiths interpretation of this figure and plausibly situates such it in an ancient egyptian context. It incorporates much of what i have learned since this journey began in august, 2011. Lund, mesoamerica and the book of mormon is this the place. This is the only time i have ever heard of this idea and wanted another book to contrast the theories of north america and central america being the place where. 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. 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. Book of mormon geography, lands, map, dna true evidence. In the book of mormon it says that hagoth launched ships into the sea west near the narrow neck of land and sailed northward not west or northwest. Mormons map time has come to help book of mormon history reach out across the americas to prove jesus christ is the god of the world 2 ne 29.
The many convergences of book of mormon locations and statements with geographical, archeological, and anthropological evidence, as shown in this article and others, confirm the book of mormon and its location 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. Where were famous book of mormon cities, like zarahemla and. Whether you create an abstract map, or a map in baja, central america, peru, thailand, or anywhere else, every nonnew york based map rejects what oliver. The map below is interactive and gives locations for various archaeological sites, artifacts, or associated stories that may be associated with the book of mormon and its people, or book of mormon descendants. Early church authors, including benjamin winchester, william smith, w. The authors of this study use archaeological evidence to argue the animals mentioned in the book of mormon had once been present in north america, although dating to an earlier period than that covered in the book of mormon, and could have survived even into the lehite period. Book of mormon central bomc is a team of ardent students of the nephite scripture working together to share the wonders of this inspired masterpiece with the world. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is.
Wayne mays twopart presentation at the november 20 vernal, ut book of mormon evidence conference. Oliver cowdery and joseph smith taught this clearly. Based upon these criteria, many scholars currently see northern central america and southern. These finds are divided into competing models, most notably the hemispheric geography model, the mesoamerican limited geography model, and the finger lakes. Its the same problem we see at book of mormon central, which is widely referred to as book of mormon central america because it censors information that contradicts its editorial posture of promoting exclusively the mesoamerican theory of book of mormon geography.
The conceptual map of the land of the book of mormon. The most important message of the book of mormon is its declared intent to convince readers that jesus is the christ. The map spans jaredite and nephitelamanite periods during which settlements changed over time. 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. Wayne may presents the supporting evidence for the heartland model, that the book of mormon nephites and jaredites lived in north america.
Not sure if this is exactly accurate, but it is very. Book of mormon central knowhys are daily short essays, memes, podcasts, and videos about some aspect of the text published in more than a dozen social media venues. It would take a century for archaeology to develop before book of mormon history exploration in mexico and central america could begin in 1946, the year missionaries first went to guatemala. In addition, sites and artifacts are also provided that give additional indirect support to the book of mormon story, such as evidence. 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. Book of mormon geography in joseph smiths day fairmormon. If however the events of the book of mormon took place in the heartland of the united states as we believe they did, then every other area outside of this limited heartland area would contain migrating lamanites, including the western united states. The church takes no position on the specific geographic location of book of mormon events in the ancient americas.
This chiasm actually focuses on the narrow strip of wilderness hereafter nsw as shown by d and d, the red highlights and the central position occupied by lines 4 and 6. Possible book of mormon sites in relation to each other possible relationships of sites in the book of mormon, based on internal evidence. 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. 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. These man credited joseph smith with teaching them that the land of bountiful mention in the book of mormon was in central america. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the. According to book of mormon central, the most important material in volume 10 are the anonymous times and seasons articles. Various apologists have claimed that events in the book of mormon took place in a variety of locations including north america, south america, central america, and even the malay peninsula.
David persuitte, joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon. The prophet joseph smith himself accepted what he felt was evidence of book of mormon civilizations in both north america and central america. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints does not officially endorse any one particular geographical model for where the events in the book of mormon. The book of mormon geography lds map and lands with dna evidence for zarahemla, cumorah, america, and indians and the narrow neck the book of mormon geography book, a promised land, the land of promise, uses the book to show mormon geography along with prophetic statements. According to the book of mormon, bountiful was one of the first areas settled by the nephites, ancient people who supposedly sailed from israel to. Amidst the hundreds of passages of potential geographic significance, alma 22. This history contains information about the places they lived, including descriptions of landforms, natural features, and the distances and cardinal directions between important points. Church releases statement on book of mormon geography. Although church members continue to discuss such theories today, the church takes no position on the geography of the book of mormon except that the events it describes took place. Pate employed his talents for problem solving to trace ancient place names in central america to book of mormon cities using the same methods. The book of mormon includes a history of an ancient people who migrated from the near east to the americas. 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.
Church releases statement on book of mormon geography book. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. Book of mormon central teamed up with artist katie payne to create a beautiful and engaging video called the plates of mormon. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. Proctor, american book of mormon map eldin ricks, book of mormon. The book of mormon central annotated text is a word by word exegesis of the text linked to the lds canon and to the archive. From information written on the maps, they show that.
Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book. Book of mormon map book of mormon, scripture study lds. In a times and seasons editorial, october 1, 1842, the prophet joseph smith after progressive study announced a discovery that the book of mormon land southward is located in central america mesoamerica, which would be from the isthmus of tehuantepec as the narrow neck of land, south to panama or at least costa rica, which as the. Using only the text of the book of mormon as the narration, get a. As expected, our friends at book of mormon central, the front for book of mormon archaeological forum, inc. Wayne may book of mormon archaeology in north america.
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