If a sincere student of the book of mormon will conscientiously read and study the book itself and will plot out all the locations mentioned. Isbn 1555175104, library of congress catalog number 9498119. Olive has done a lot of research into the ancient geography of the area of western new york and to me it makes a lot of sense that the lands of the book of morman are located in upper new york. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. Continentalscale lands in the text such as bountiful, desolation, greater zarahemla and greater nephi are purposely excluded from this analysis because their extent. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. It seems to me your proposal and responses thus far are moving in that direction.
As with all lgl proposals, aston is forced to improvise in identifying the named seas of book of mormon lands. The book of mormon is a record of the forefathers of our. On my fourth visit to the book of mormon on a recent night, the show still had me at hello, the first word of the first song in this longrunning musical. Journey with the author through that ancient setting and discover just why the lands of the book of mormon have been lost for such a long time.
Careful analysis of early writings on book of mormon geography. Amidst the hundreds of passages of potential geographic significance, alma 22. Subject to the approval of interpreter i further propose to post. Limited geography and the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. The following references clearly place the hill cumorah in new york. While holleys map is interesting, it is far from being an accurate reflection of the book of mormon lands. Here is more evidence showing that the lamanites of the book of mormon are in north america not mezoamerica as published in our book several years ago. The committee reported that although the church never officially endorsed the maps, the proposed geographical locations of book of mormon cities and lands on the maps made a lasting impression which has been difficult to. Wrong route from chattanooga, tennessee to montrose, iowa end up in new york. The book of mormon and the constitution western new york.
The book of mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to uganda to try to convert citizens to the mormon religion. Book of mormonplagiarism accusationsplace names from. A heartland book of mormon exploration the millennial star. The geographical setting of the book of mormon has been the subject of. In this volume i have reversed my views, held many years ago, that the hill cumorah, around which the last great battles of the nephites and jaredites took place, was in the state of new york. These covenant lands are in the borders of the prophetic united states of america. Atlantic coast and inland in regions not too far from new york state, the proposed setting for the book of mormon, one of which may have erupted at the time of. In the late 1800s, the rlds committee on american archaeology arranged for g. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the.
Book of mormon geography the encyclopedia of mormonism. Traveling from the land of desolation in the north, to the land southward, we encounter the principal book of mormon lands of bountiful, zarahemla, and nephi. The book of mormon places a land among many waters near cumorah, and the land of zarahemla so near to each other, that travelers from the south could mistake one region for the other. The book of mormon data are very clear and show quite conclusively that. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Study two dozen detailed, fullcolor maps that follow the footsteps of mosiah, alma, ammon, limhi, and lands from nephi to zarahemla.
The first place proposed was starting at the new york area where joseph smith said he found more accurately was shown the location of the plates. This article relies too much on references to primary sources. 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. These principal book of mormon lands are southward from the land northward mentioned in helaman 3.
The proposed research would examine the movements and the encampments of the hopewellian people who were in conflict in western new york during the late 4th century. Residents fight mormon temple plan the new york times. The book of mormon does not say that the entire land northward resides in land occupied by the united states of america. Views on book of mormon geography, privately circulated book of mormon working paper no. Mormon apologist joseph vincent, editor of california archaeologist, explained at a 1963 byu symposium that all book of mormon lands lie within a five or six hundred mile radiusand could not possibly extend from chile to new york. Wayne may places the narrow pass and land northward in canada which is ruled under a monarchy, but the book of mormon states. Actually western new york is subject to strong anomalous earthquakes. This paper supports the heartland geography for the lands of the book of mormon. North american book of mormon geography the interpreter. Weston to prepare six maps of book of mormon lands. The lost lands of the book of mormon takes the reader back in time to an era when ancient waters and primeval forests covered new york from one end to the other. According to our map, book of mormon land is in western new york from erie, pa to palmyra, ny. The book of mormon west sea and east sea, on the other hand, are proper nouns that is, they are the actual names of bodies of water that situate on the west and on the east respectively, of the lands of zarahemla and nephi.
Practically since the book of mormon was published, its geography has been the subject of discussion and debate. This outcome could affect all proposed book of mormon geographies. Phyllis carol olive, the lost lands of the book of mormon, printed by bonneville books, springville, utah, first printing 2000. In the other corner is the challenger, a new theory that. The american geography of the book of mormon has many competing. View all hotels near the book of mormon on tripadvisor. The book of mormon new york city 2020 all you need to. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day. Instead, what has angered the townspeople most, especially those who live near the mormon site, is the temples size and the proposed height of its two spires. The primary arguments are based on the knowledge 1 that large armies need large populations.
Tanner, jaredites, in encyclopedia of mormonism, edited by daniel h. Lamanites true book of mormon geography lands western. Of the 15 place names proposed to have been taken straight from the new england map, 5 of them are in the wrong place according to the book of mormon. There are times when there is not the opportunity to get a clear understanding of what the traveler saw and these bulletins will help with that understanding. I call this greater book of mormon lands that goes beyond the geographic limitations of mormons abridgment within a territory outlined in alma 22. Ritchies account is thought to be problematic and misleading only because the nephiteequivalent period in new york is one of relatively low population, and aston believes these to be book of mormon lands. The location of lands, oceans, rivers, mountain ranges, and boundaries in relationship to distances and relative positions in the book of mormon must match.
The heartland model is a proposed book of mormon geography that spreads the scriptures new world setting over much of the eastern united states. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Thus americas ultimate godgiven destiny, planned by the creator and testified by ancient and modern prop. Perhaps the time has come to concentrate more heavily on those lands surrounding the only known landmark we have of the book of mormon saga the hill cumorah in new york state, the very place the record of the nephites were deposited by moroni, the son of mormon, the last nephite prophet to walk the land after the destruction of his people. Book of mormon lands discovering the lost lands of the. The archaeological record supports this hypothesis that the lamanites were the mound builders whose center was not western new york, but did extend to western new york.
First key the hill cumorah is in new york this is the only known book of mormon location. She answers a lot of the questions that most people would ask. 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. Purpose of the book of mormon tour helps these single page descriptions of a specific book of mormon site are designed to provide pertinent information to the traveler about the site. This page is about the book of mormon geography by wayne may, the founder of ancient american magazine and author of this land book series. The town of jordan, new york was established prior to 1819, but does not appear on the 1822 map of new york. The second key places the city of nephi within a miles of new york, and as a result, the rest of the book of mormon lands all within the eastern half of the us. Hamblin, book of mormon chronology, in book of mormon reference companion, edited by dennis l. Like the new testament, the book of mormon is presented as a divinely inspired anthology, the mostly chronological record of a people from about 600 b. It does appear on the 1827 map three years prior to the publication of the book of mormon and the 1831 map of new york one year after the publication of the book of mormon. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia.
Others view the modern hill cumorah to be distinct from the original, and simply to have been named after it. The book of mormon does not state into which sea the river sidon empties, so the mouth of the river is not shown. Let the book of mormon change your life, again, as you investigate exploring the lands of the book of. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The astons propose wadi sayq as the best candidate for bountiful, and it. Book of mormongeographynew worldgreat lakes geography. Joseph lovell allen true book of mormon geography lands. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting there have been numerous attempts to locate the long, lost lands of the book of mormon over the years. Vernal holleys book of mormon authorship annotated 3. Garth norman, bookofmormon geography study on the narrow neck of land region, privately circulated book of mormon geography working paper no. From there north and south america were assumed to be book of mormon lands, with central america the narrow neck of. Although the book of mormon is primarily a religious record of the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites, enough geographic details are embedded in the narrative to allow reconstruction of at least a rudimentary geography of book of mormon lands. In antiquity, this region was settled by mound building cultures that existed during, and in other cases, centuries after book of mormon times.
Given that the book of mormon clearly describes inhabitants of the new world long. The socalled gap suggested by aston does not exist. The following address by president j reuben clark, jr. Mormon and moronis cumorah is claimed by many believers to be the same land containing the modern hill cumorah near joseph smiths home in palmyra, western new york, from whence the gold plates of the book of mormon were retrieved. Sydney sperry, for example, says in the preface to book of mormon compendium. Any study of the book of mormon geography must strictly adhere to criteria that do not alter the book of mormon text, the proposed map, nor established scientific dating systems. The northern portion of lake erie is the west sea, and the western portion of lake ontario is the sea west, while the eastern part of this same lake is the sea east.