Mesoamerica, the region of southern mexico, guatemala, and adjacent nations. An examination of a map of north america shows that it is possible to sail along the coast of. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints in south. This map shows what some think as original settings for the book of mormon. 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. America was the land northward and south america was the land southward, with the. The snake people from the south appear to be people that came from mesoamerica during a time of severe drought in their lands. They were certainly of the lds proper because they received instructions from utah and we often had young mormon lawyers from utah come and visit us for a week or two to get a feel for how we operated in south africa.
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. Just make sure the customs, culture and geography of your preferred area really do match the text of the book of mormon. Cannon said that the church was in no position to include a map for the book of mormon without further information. Oct 02, 2014 finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Well, it may be the head of the river where it empties. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. 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. He is a great teacher, a brilliant scholar, and gifted with a sense of humor.
Why did moroni include mormons condemnation of infant baptism. Book of mormon in north america maps annotated book of mormon. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. His map and ideas have dominated lds scholarly thinking for decades. Jun 03, 2018 while rounding the tip of south africa, about 115 miles from the cape of good hope the good ship phoenicia encountered a mighty storm that ripped the main sail in pieces amidst 67 meter high massive waves. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia.
Annotated book of mormon by david hocking and rod meldrum page 540 emphasis added annotated book of mormon page 540. 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. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. At some point between 2000 and 2005, the number of black members of the church in south africa exceeded fifty percent. Nov 17, 2019 the book of mormon does not explain mesoamerican peoplesbut mesoamerican peoples help explain the book of mormon with such a small lehite population entering an established region with a significantly larger population, the most logical direction of cultural borrowing would have been from the established indigenous population to the small. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, deseret book, 1985. Archaeological and historical evidence jareditesolmecs. Critique of a limited geography for book of mormon events. Almost all north south land traffic and trade passed through this corridor from ancient jaredite times until well past the end of book of mormon times 420 ad. There are several theories held among latterday saints for the location of book of mormon lands. Byu library, an account of our book of mormon lands tour, 27 january to 16 february 1961.
Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. Zarahemla, a part of central america several hundred miles of territory from. Currently afrikaans is the native tongue of about % of the population in south africa. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. On the journey between south africa and the straights of gibraltar. As of 2017, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints reported 64,123 members in 177 congregations, four missions, and one temple in south africa. The book of mormon musical also has great fun at the expense of mormon missionaries, of whom there are over 80,000 serving at any given time. 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 does not explain mesoamerican peoplesbut mesoamerican peoples help explain the book of mormon with such a small lehite population entering an established region with a significantly larger population, the most logical direction of cultural borrowing would have been from the established indigenous population to the small. Claims the narrow neck of land is the isthmus of tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of mesoamerica. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon john l. New revelations of the americas before columbus by charles c. Transcripts of lectures presented to an honors book of mormon class at brigham young university, 19881990, provo.
Three church of jesus christ of latterday saints missionaries started proselyting to white englishspeaking people in cape town in 1853. John lund talks about the book of mormon and mesoamerica at the learn our religion lecture series. Anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon. Hugh nibley, teachings of the book of mormonsemester 1. He describes the yearning for afrikaansspeakers for a translation of the book of mormon.
In spite of the strong evidence that mesoamerica has nothing to do with the book of mormon, the lds community has been very slow to abandon this favorite setting. In other words, since we believe main events of the book of mormon. The land shadowing with wings the book of mormon in. John lund on book of mormon in mesoamerica youtube. Tvedtnes, book of mormon tribal af liation and military castes, in. 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. While rounding the tip of south africa, about 115 miles from the cape of good hope the good ship phoenicia encountered a mighty storm that ripped the main sail in pieces amidst 67 meter high massive waves. South africa has similar laws about marriage ceremonies needing to be in public and archaically under a roof with doors and. While capturing the city teancum, the lamanites took many women and children as prisoners and sacrificed them to idols mormon 4.
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. He talks about the olmecs and ancient codex in this short clip. Either way, a real map is better than a fictitious cartoon map. In the film they discuss the book of mormon account of the voyage of lehi and his family. Why did the lamanites sacrifice women and children to. 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. There are even theories that the book of mormon took place in africa or malaysia. 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. 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.
Mesoamericans in prespanish south america book of mormon. 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. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon. Most converts from this time emigrated to the united states. 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 name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures. As stated in this book, this does not mean that descendants of book of mormon peoples did not eventually migrate to other parts of the hemisphere and the world during or. 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 mission was closed in 1865, but reopened in 1903. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. After repairs were made and the ship resupplied, they left south africa march 22, 2010 headed north along the west coastline of africa.
Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978. Another limited geography model, known as the heartland model, has the book of mormon taking place primarily in the eastern united states. At least eighty versions of a book of mormon map have been produced. Various lines of evidence based on geography, geology, archaeology, climate, and more point to an area in mesoamerica as the place where book of mormon events occurred. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic. Parker and stone were best known for creating the animated comedy south park. This book contains number of evidences in support of the authenticity of various details in the book of mormon. So many of our people ended going back to the southern lands. 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.
Lund is a motivational speaker, author, tour guide, scholar and consultant. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the shake. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. In other words, using the same references, it would be hard to show an archaeological and cultural relationship between the book of mormon and the rocky mountains usa or the midwest usa, or anywhere in canada or the lands of south america, at the time periods required 600 bc 400 ad.
How does the book of mormon help date the first christmas. This map plausibly positions these and other book of mormon locations in the general mesoamerican arena. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Some place the geography of the book in upstate new york or near the great lakes. 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. Nevertheless, if we are to build a strong web of interlocking evidence, incorrect correspondences such as the claim that mesoamerica fits the text must be set aside. He also asked members to not discuss geography or introduce maps in church settings.
Popular mesoamerica books meet your next favorite book. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. There are many people in south and central america that are lamanites and part of the hinterlands. After years of studying maps, mormon scripture, and spanish chronicles. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. In addition, the entire story of the book of mormon occurred within a small 500mile radius within mesoamerica. As explained last week, the book of mormon model for a mesoamerican geography has a.
The translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans. Others look to peru and south america, or to the baja peninsula, or texas, and some even propose the malaysian peninsula. In his book, on page 25, he describes an encounter with a church leader, presumably john taylor. Sep 02, 2015 john lund talks about the book of mormon and mesoamerica at the learn our religion lecture series. Oct 31, 2012 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. Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon places. 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.
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. I started this blog over a year ago, mainly in response to a document purportedly written by john sorenson about why north america cannot be the setting for the book of mormon. The hinterlandshow can lamanites live in both north and south. Mayan civilization and parallels to the book of mormon. Especially, if the customs and cultures of those areas match the culture of the book of mormon and help you better understand the events in the book of mormon. Hinterlands lamanites in north, south, and central america.
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. This over 2000 year time period, allow them to spread out over the land from at least as far south as peru, traveling by boat along the west coast. The book of mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics and book by trey parker, robert lopez, and matt stone first staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. Brother sorenson proposed instead that the book of mormon took place in a limited area of mesoamerica. Map of mesoamerica species in central and east africa, mesoamerica, south america the studys data was added to the interactive map of life, which allows users to see how a species habitat changes depending on this map shows what some think as original settings for the book book of mormon you must find all of these minerals, and. 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.
Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon. Apr 01, 2018 either way, a real map is better than a fictitious cartoon map. Proposed map of the lands and sites of the book of mormon. Today, the lds church is most prevalent in the united states, latin america, canada, europe, the. Moronis americamaps edition 150 maps of the bofm in north america. In mesoamerica, a narrow travel corridor stretches from the pacific coast of guatemala through the isthmus of tehuantepec to the atlantic coast of veracruz, mexico. May 26, 2018 so many of our people ended going back to the southern lands.
Archaeological evidence indicates that these ancient jaredite people, who according to the book of mormon lived on the western hemisphere from approximately 2500 b. The fossils known from the area are also compatible with this view. Many latterday saints are used to thinking of the entire western hemisphere as the place where book of mormon events were played out. While much of the book is sound and wellreasoned, from time to time, he shows his bias for a mesoamerican setting. Muleks party first arrived in the land north see helaman 6. 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. Mostly young men between the ages of 18 and 21, and increasingly young women between the ages of 19 and 21, they serve for two years at great personal sacrifice because of their testimony of the savior. Although human sacrifice was likely practiced in earlier times among the lehites, this is the first time it specifically recorded in the book of mormon. Pontius was a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latterday saints in south africa from 197173. The south african government limited the amount of missionaries allowed to enter the country in 1921 and in 1955.
Limited geography and the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Many latterday saints are used to thinking of the entire western hemisphere as the place. African mormons mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Jan 22, 2011 anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon. Henry caswall visited nauvoo in 1842 and wrote a book about the experience titled the city of the mormon, or three days at nauvoo.
The church of jesus christ of latterday saints in south africa. In any case, evidence appears to show that smith did not subscribe to the limited mesoamerican or south american geography theories promoted by some lds. Even the hill cumorah, where joseph smith obtained the gold plates, is not really the same hill cumorah mentioned in the text. By the 1930s, when ferguson learned about mesoamerican civilizations. Why does the book of mormon include the rise and fall of two nations. Apr 06, 2007 i had the pleasure of being amongst many on a tour to mesoamerica with john lund. Lehis family landed either on the east coast or on the northern shore of the gulf of mexico, after sailing around africa and across the atlantic ocean.
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