Plausible locations in mesoamerica for book of mormon places. 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. Many of her photos were also included in our book, exploring the lands of the book of mormon. Byu library, an account of our book of mormon lands tour, 27 january to 16 february 1961. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Archaeological evidence has placed ancient american peoples such as the olmecs, teotihuacans, zapotecs, mayans, and chiapas in various general locations in mesoamerica. 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.
Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya and. Interactive book of mormon map virtual book of mormon. Site correlations more about these maps land northward. 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. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology the book of mormon is a highly controversial book in the light of mesoamerican archeology. The name mesoamerica is a term used to identify the heartland of a number of significant precolumbian cultures. Feb 18, 2008 is the book of mormon being confirmed. A memorable book of mormon lands tour guatemala, honduras, belize and mexico 11 days10 nights day 1 fri. The 10th annual book of mormon lands symposium was held in salt lake city to discuss the research and discoveries most recently made supporting. Sorenson is convinced that the events in the book of mormon took place in a much smaller area than many believe. Claims the narrow neck of land is the isthmus of tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of mesoamerica. 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. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence.
A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted. Garth normans map book of mormon archaeological forum. Apr 06, 2007 i had the pleasure of being amongst many on a tour to mesoamerica with john lund. Some placed the nephite capital city zarahemla in mesoamerica, others in south america.
We have taken more tours to mesoamerica to compare the ancient sites and civilizations with the book of mormon than any other tour operator. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. He is a great teacher, a brilliant scholar, and gifted with a sense of humor. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. A book that introduces all the requirements of book of mormon lands. Book of mormon societies parallel mesoamerican civilizations.
Oct 02, 2014 finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. The olmecs are thought to have been contemporaries with the jaredites, while the chiapas may possibly have been associated with some of the nephite peoples. Mesoamerica is the site of the only literate precolumbian population. Fairmormon claimed that jerusalem, ohio does not show up on a 1822 map. 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. John clark, a mesoamerican archaeologist answers this question. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world.
Others argued for a setting in the american heartland. After years of studying maps, mormon scripture, and spanish chronicles. George has recently shifted his focus from the old world to the new world. Book of mormon tours has been operated by the allen family since 1970. We are the pioneers of the book of mormon tour concept. On february 1, 2018, national geographic broke a story about some incredible new discoveries in mesoamerican archaeology using new technology. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning. 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. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the shake.
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. Lunds love for history and the book of mormon has taken him to mexico, honduras, belize and guatemala more than twenty times. Guatemala, honduras, belize, and mexico mesoamerica 2021. 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 mormon with archaeology. 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 three authors of an lds guide to mesoamerica, walk us through the lands of the book of mormon. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. On subsequent days, the story was picked up by other major media outlets such as bbc, washington post, npr, the new york times, and. Pratt a detailed map for the book of mormon has been produced by archaeologist garth norman which may solve a longstanding puzzle. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described.
Muleks party first arrived in the land north see helaman 6. He has explored the anthropology of mesoamerica, which is southern mexico and northern central america and has found conclusive evidence to support his theories. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Today we drive into the highlands past precarious mountainside farms that seem to. Sheryl lee wilson has traveled throughout mesoamerica with a keen eye capturing on film the essence of americas greatest civilizations. 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. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology. 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. 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. Book of mormon geography tour 11 days10 nights guatemala. How could so many people have died at the battle of cumorah. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia.
This page is a supplement to my book of mormon evidences page. The maya and the olmec have a written languagea requirement for book of mormon peoples, who kept records. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. Why did the lamanites sacrifice women and children to idols. Archaeology confirms such cities in mesoamerica in book of mormon times. The book of mormon and mesoamerican archeology book of. In this page, i discuss the recent discoveries in mesoamerica which have caused a complete paradigm shift in the thinking of scholars. Proposed map of the lands and sites of the book of mormon. Anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon.
Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic. A large face with full beard carved into the mountainside opposite the ruins of. Authors usually quote from mythology and legends which discuss ancient gods such as the mexican aztecs quetzalcoatl to conclude that the legends were actually based on caucasians visiting those areas, and that the caucasians were really the gods. Lund is a motivational speaker, author, tour guide, scholar and consultant.
Formative 1500 bc to 250 ad antiquities constructed in book of mormon times. It comes with an optional explanatory booklet entitled book of mormon mesoamerican historic geography, and is available online. Mesoamerica is the only place that appears to have had a sophisticated writing system during book of mormon times. Mesoamerica, the region of southern mexico, guatemala, and adjacent nations. Archaeological and historical evidence jareditesolmecs. By the 1930s, when ferguson learned about mesoamerican civilizations as an. Mapping the internal geography of the book of mormon requires that the land be hourglass shaped. The book of mormon and defensive fortifications in mesoamerica. Others look to peru and south america, or to the baja peninsula, or texas, and some even propose the malaysian peninsula. So, the logical conclusion would be to assume that jerusalem wasnt established before the publication of the book of mormon. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. Jan 22, 2011 anthropologist mark wrights 2008 fair conference address on similarities between mesoamerica and the book of mormon.
The scientific legacy of a quest to prove 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. 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. This map plausibly positions these and other book of mormon locations in the general mesoamerican arena. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is unique in this regard. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. These maps are not drawn to scale and are for illustration only.
The most important message of the book of mormon is its declared intent to convince readers that jesus is the christ. Mesoamerica and the book of mormon linkedin slideshare. View the original article at the book of mormon resources blog. If you arent familiar with the book of mormon, please see my book of mormon introduction page and get your own free copy at. Virtual book of mormon another testament of jesus christ. The article does not actually say that book of mormon lands are to be found in central america. 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. Nevertheless, when taken as a whole, the references in the book of mormon relating to directions, distances, city locations, rivers, mountain ranges, seas and other large bodies of water, coastal plains, mountain passes, and specific references to tropical heat, a narrow neck of land, wet lands, battles and troop movements, help to establish a. Cheesmans, the world of the book of mormon, deseret book, 1978.
Because the book of mormon, the keystone of our religion, is a record of. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth the book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. 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. One very distinctive feature he mentions is that there was a land northward and a land southward separated by a narrow neck of land. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day. Even the hill cumorah, where joseph smith obtained the gold plates, is not really the same hill cumorah mentioned in the text. I had the pleasure of being amongst many on a tour to mesoamerica with john lund. George is a proponent that the book of mormon lands are in peru. While much of the book is sound and wellreasoned, from time to time, he shows his bias for a mesoamerican setting.
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. It uniquely goes about verifying each requirement, step by step. There are several theories held among latterday saints for the location of book of mormon lands. Mayan civilization and parallels to the book of mormon. Such maps can be a useful introduction for those who are new to the book of mormon. Some place the geography of the book in upstate new york or near the great lakes. This map shows what some think as original settings for the book of mormon. If you arent familiar with the book of mormon, please see my book of mormon introduction page and get your own free copy at mormon. If one searches on the internet for when jerusalem was first settled, they wont find any information. In addition, the entire story of the book of mormon occurred within a small 500mile radius within 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 lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. Compare them to a map of palestine to view the correlations. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york. New revelations of the americas before columbus by charles c. Archaeological remains of peccaries have been found in mesoamerica from the preclassic or formative period up until. You will walk away with a greater knowledge and appreciation of mesoamericans and their. 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. Palenque the ruins of palenque lie in the shadow of a lush mountainside east of. Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic model in.