While church leaders in salt lake city have made no official pronouncements on the subject, the prevailing view within mormon intellectual circles is that the primary action in the book of mormon did not, in fact, happen in upstate new york, but in mesoamerica. The history of the americas, particularly mesoamerica, is broken up into several periods based on archaeological and cultural discoveries. The book of mormon and defensive fortifications in mesoamerica. It comes with an optional explanatory booklet entitled book of mormon mesoamerican historic geography, and is available online. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, s. Exploring the lands of the book of mormon, by joseph allen, sa publishers, orem, utah, 1989, pp.
This page is a supplement to my book of mormon evidences page. 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. This book contains number of evidences in support of the authenticity of various details in the book of mormon. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city. Muleks party first arrived in the land north see helaman 6.
Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. Archaeology and the book of mormon wikimili, the best. My research, my travels in mesoamerica, and my evaluations of joes thinking all convince me that mesoamerica is the best candidate for the lands of the book of mormon. Created by the authors of an lds guide to mesoamerica and the yucatan to share experiences about the book of mormon and ancient america. 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.
Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, both mormon and non mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence. Clark, book of mormon geography, in encyclopedia of mormonism, 1. This map successfully passed 11 stringent tests designed to evaluate degree of fit to the text. New revelations of the americas before columbus by charles c. An archaeologists insights into book of mormon geography. On this map, we can see that mesoamerica is refering to a region up to the north of mexico. 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. How does the book of mormon help date the first christmas. A comparison of book of mormon geographies showing new york to be the most viable setting for book of mormon events.
City of zarahemla, land of zarahemla and the river sidon part i. Mesoamerica has highly varied landforms with elevations ranging from sea level to 5,600 meters. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. History at the time of the book of mormon the millennial star.
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. Such maps can be a useful introduction for those who are new to the book of mormon. This page shows the location of mesoamerica, fresnillo, zac. Mesoamerica vs heartlanders 3 unique characteristics. I agree that the book of mormon describes mountains, hills and valleys, but the text also refers to plains e. 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. Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement generally believe that the book of mormon describes ancient historical events in the americas, but historians and archaeologists. Arnold friberg, who painted that image of samuel the lamanite and eleven other paintings in the famous series on book of mormon events, specifically set his paintings in. In addition, the entire story of the book of mormon occurred within a small 500mile radius within mesoamerica. Cecil mcgavin makes note in his book an apology for the book of mormon, p. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the.
The article 75 bc documents the impressive chronological correlation between widespread fortifications in the maya lowlands and the book of mormon text. Mesoamerica is the only viable setting for the book of mormon the only possible location where events of the book of mormon occurred was within central america, specifically the region of eastern ancient mesoamerica, which comprises guatemala, southeastern mexico, and belize. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning. In this page, i discuss the recent discoveries in mesoamerica which have caused a complete paradigm shift in the thinking of scholars. The 10th annual book of mormon lands symposium was held in salt lake city to discuss the research and discoveries most recently made supporting. Horses in the book of mormon page 3 general discussions. This category and its subcategories contain maps of mesoamerica particularly relating to aspects of its precolumbian history and its subregions. Its pages contain accounts of real people who lived somewhere. The smoking gun of book of mormon geography book of. See more ideas about book of mormon, mayan ruins and lds art. Arnold friberg, who painted that image of samuel the lamanite and eleven other paintings in the famous series on book of mormon events, specifically set his paintings in central america. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in.
The geography of mesoamerica describes the geographic features of mesoamerica, a culture area in the americas inhabited by complex indigenous precolumbian cultures exhibiting a suite of shared and common cultural characteristics. 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. Arguably, this popular mormon model draws more inspiration from john lloyd stephens 1841 bestseller incidents of travel in central america, chiapas, and yucatan, than from the book of mormon. The phoenicia is a traditionallybuilt replica of a phoenician merchant vessel, based on a 600 bc design. Mesoamerica is the only viable setting for the book of mormon. For the record, regarding book of mormon geography i am a mesoamericanist, and i am persuaded fully to mormons map as exhaustively studied internally in the book of mormon and charted versebyverse onto paper by byu professor john l. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia.
The smoking gun of book of mormon geography book of mormon. If that is what you pictured, you are experiencing the influence of this man the smoking gun of book of mormon geography. Anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon. Why does the book of mormon include the rise and fall of two nations. Plausible locations in mesoamerica for 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. If you arent familiar with the book of mormon, please see my book of mormon introduction page and get your own free copy at. 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. Even the hill cumorah, where joseph smith obtained the gold plates, is not really the same hill cumorah mentioned in the text. The tehuantepec model is what sides calls a wholly hypothetical geography for the book of mormon. Feb 11, 2019 this article introduces basic book of mormon geography based on the february, 2019 version of the maglebytovar book of mormon map.
For old maps showing mesoamerica and its subregions that is, maps made over 70 years ago, please see category old maps of mesoamerica. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. 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. The bulk of the book of mormon takes place during the preclassic or formative period 2000 b. The book of mormon is not primarily about the history, wars, geography, culture, etc. British adventurer and expedition leader, philip beale frgs, captains the phoenicia, sailing with a multinational crew with representatives from the united states, lebanon, tunisia, united kingdom, norway, holland, brazil and indonesia. Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon places. Lastditch warfare in ancient mesoamerica recalls the book of mormon. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. Coes book should correspond with at least some of the statements asserted as fact in the book of mormon, taking into account that the objective of the book of mormon is to testify of jesus christ. Examines some apparent clashes between modern biblical scholarship and the book of mormon, such as the notion that the exodus theme woven into nephis account is anachronistic because modern scholars think the exodus story was a late. A good portion of the examples are unique to lunds book, for example, the mayans obsessions with perfectly level roads, which are broken up in the storms at christs death. The name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures.
This map plausibly positions these and other book of mormon locations in the general mesoamerican arena. Please remember, that it is a cultural region, defined by the. Items in the bmc archive are made publicly available for noncommercial, private use. The history of the church proclaims the ruins were likely nephite or belonging to the ancient inhabitants of america treated of in the book of mormon.
The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described in the book of mormon. Despite all these links to north america, arnold friberg, who established for latterday saints what book of mormon people, landscapes, and events might have looked like,3 picked central americaas have most. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology book of. Oct 11, 2019 if that is what you pictured, you are experiencing the influence of this man the smoking gun of book of mormon geography. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text.
Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or of book of mormon central. From street and road map to highresolution satellite imagery of mesoamerica. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Lunds love for history and the book of mormon has taken him to mexico, honduras, belize and guatemala more than twenty times.
The book of mormon describes mountains, hills, and valleys with significant elevation differences between them. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. Inclusion within the bmc archive does not imply endorsement. Mar 27, 2016 despite all these links to north america, arnold friberg, who established for latterday saints what book of mormon people, landscapes, and events might have looked like, 3 picked central americaas have most artists who depict book of mormon events.
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. 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. Popular mesoamerica books meet your next favorite book. And it came to pass that the amlicites came upon the hill amnihu, which was east of the river sidon, which ran by the land of zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the nephites. The only possible location where events of the book of mormon occurred was within central america, specifically the region of eastern ancient mesoamerica, which comprises guatemala, southeastern mexico, and belize. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Lighthaven delivers the light of inspiration through christian art. The book of first nephi, the first book in the volume, describes the actions of lehi and his family in leaving jerusalem before its destruction, following the counsel of the lord, and wandering through the wilderness for several years before embarking on a transoceanic voyage to somewhere in or near central america.
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. 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. Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other denominations of the latter day saint movement generally believe that the book of mormon describes ancient historical events in the americas, but mainstream. Garth normans map book of mormon archaeological forum. Where did the idea that the bom occurred in central america. Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. 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. Mesoamerica, the region of southern mexico, guatemala, and adjacent nations. See more ideas about book of mormon, lds books and scripture study. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology.
There are strong reasons for suspecting ancient mesoamerica as the physical location of book of mormon events in the new world. Why did moroni include mormons condemnation of infant baptism. Byu library, an account of our book of mormon lands tour, 27 january to 16 february 1961. Book of mormon tours 275 n e, orem, utah 84097 rated 4. Apr 09, 2007 most lds scholars agree that the book of mormon lands are located somewhere around mesoamerica. 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. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic. The book of mormon begins in a wellknown location, jerusalem, in 600 b. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. Zarahemla when an abstract internal map based on the book of mormon text is overlaid on north america. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. However, as i pointed out in my previous post, there are no specific cities found, only ideas of general regions and landscapes. Claims the narrow neck of land is the isthmus of tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of mesoamerica.
May 17, 2018 explore alwaysprepares board book of mormon. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology the book of mormon is a highly controversial book in the light of mesoamerican archeology. Oct 07, 2019 despite all these links to north america, arnold friberg, who established for latterday saints what book of mormon people, landscapes, and events might have looked like, 3 picked central americaas have most artists who depict book of mormon events. Our galleries, publishing and art services, have provided access to the finest inspirational christian artists, experiences and fine art products since 1978.
Ainsworth discusses the differences between the people who claim the book of mormon history took place in mesoamerica and a new group of folks who claim it happened in upstate michigan. 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. 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. Looking at the maya problem from a different perspective. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic model in. However, this is not what mormon tells us about the location of the river sidon in relation to the city of zarahemla. Aug 03, 2018 and yeah, perhaps the book of mormon is more confusing than most because it effectively went through many stages of translation, involving a hebrew dialect that evolved in america, reformed egyptian glyphs that were always an ad hoc writing system for hebrew speakers, multiple editors human and angelic, and final transmission through a seer. Free detailed satellite map of mesoamerica maphill.
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