I have tremendous respect for the many book of mormon studies john sorenson has previously written. The core locations and events detailed in the text of the book of mormon took place in mesoamerica, but many nephites and lamanites migrated and established settlements far northward. Interpreting book of mormon geography byu scholarsarchive. John l sorenson is one of the best book of mormon scholars, having written seveal excellent texts, such as an ancient american setting for the book of mormon and images of ancient america. He shows clearly that the book of mormon occured in a rather limited geographical scope, in the order of a few hundred miles or so, and that the lds church has no official position on the book of mormon s geography. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. It is a book of scripture aimed at teaching people about christ and how to find happiness through the gospel. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Sorenson does an excellent job in showing the requirements of the book of mormon volume and the antiquity of a limited geography model among latterday saints, contra critics who claim it is nothing short of a construct by sorenson from the 1980s and a mormon tactic to protect the book of mormon from alleged archaeological problems. John sorenson true book of mormon geography lands western. Mar 06, 2018 book of mormon nephite destruction outline narrow neck. It is, however, a fantastic and exhaustive examination of what the book of mormon itself says about its own geography. He also serves as editor of journal of book of mormon studies.
Sorenson, the retired byu anthropologist and farmsmaxwell institute contributor whom many credit with originating that hypothesis. Sorenson born april 8, 1924 is an emeritus professor of anthropology at brigham young university byu and the author of an ancient american setting for the book of mormon as well as many other books and articles on the book of mormon and archaeology. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. 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. Generations of mormons grew up with the notion that american indians are descended from a lost tribe from the house of israel, offspring of a book of mormon figure named lehi, who left jerusalem and sailed to the americas around 600 b.
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. Sorensons groundbreaking book, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, published in 1985. Sorenson has been studying the relationship of the book of mormon to mesoamerica for over 60 years. Sorensons most recent compilation and discussion of book of mormon passages relating to geography. It is our assertion that the heartlands of the book of mormon peoplesthe nephites, the lamanites, the jaredites and the people of mulek.
List of evidence of the book of mormon john sorenson. While some latterday saints have looked for possible locations and explanations for book of mormon geography because the new york hill cumorah does not readily fit the book of mormon description of cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the book of mormon text and any specific site. Lund researched editorials ascribed to joseph smith in an early lds church newspaper called. Joseph smith and the geography of the book of mormon by john. In this text, sorenson reconstructs the internal geography of the book of mormon. 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. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. For the past 55 years, john sorenson has inhaled every detail of book of mormon life and history. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. What id like my kids to know about love june 19, 2018 10. Joseph smith, revelation, and book of mormon geography.
What is the heartland model of book of mormon geography mark alan wright. 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. John sorenson, an authority on book of mormon geography, gave a lecture at olive wood books on the book of mormon, geography, and mesoamerica. Most books on book of mormon geography can be discounted easily. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith andrew h. Book of mormon geographymodelslimitedsorenson 1955. It is a companion book to the mesoamerica and the book of mormon. It, therefore, is an important geographical indicator. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the shake. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. An approach to the book of mormon geography a land choice above all other lands lynn and david rosenvall, march 2009 the book of mormon story happened somewhere.
President benson said, in the book of mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the second coming. Jerry grovers book, which uses geological principles to explain the occurrence of natural events in the book of mormon, is not as widely known. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon by john l. The one and only river mentioned in the entire book of mormon is called the sidon. This book was a common household reference in young joseph smiths time and place. Hugh nibley and book of mormon geography book of mormon. The book of mormon is not intended to be a history book or a guide to geography, science, or any other secular topic.
Each year at its annual book of mormon lands conference, the book of mormon archaeological forum gives the father lehi award and the mother sariah award to a couple who have contributed significantly to book of mormon studies and research. 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. Sorenson, a retired professor of anthropology at byu, and the author of an ancient. Oct 02, 2014 finally there is a way to really explore john sorenson s book of mormon geography. Arguments for and against the authenticity of the book of. All lds students of book of mormon geography who have worked systematically with the problem in recent decades have come to agree on this sorenson 1985, 2930. Sorensons an ancient american setting for the book. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. The person most often associated with this theory is john l. As a result, i felt rfm readers would benefit from a critical examination of the writings and claims of john l.
Hedges in the course of his efforts to chart the development of ideas regarding book of mormon geography, john l. Hugh nibley and book of mormon geography by kirk magleby. Clark,4 randall spackman determined that there are upwards of passages of potential geographic. Deciphering the geography and an ancient american setting for. List of evidence of the book of mormon john sorenson fair mormon. When john sorensons longawaited volume an ancient american setting for the book of mormon finally appeared in 1985, i was thrilled and bought it immediately hugh nibley had been investigating the ancient near eastern background of the book of mormon for decades, but the study of its ancient american background had lagged behind.
Practically since the book of mormon was published, its geography has been the subject of discussion and debate. This is not a book of archeaology or consideration of placement of cities in modern mesoamerica. Made popular by his 1985 publication an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, sorenson s geographic model for the book of mormon has withstood the test of time and remains the preeminent geographic model for book of mormon events. He had a lot of really good ideas as to how the book of mormon could fit into current knowledge of history, archaeology, and geography of ancient north america. Sorenson outlined his model in his seminal 1985 work, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, john l. The church emphasizes the doctrinal and historical value of the book of mormon, not its geography. Sorenson lecture, sponsored by the byu department of anthropology and book of mormon central. For many years the smithsonian institution in washington has received inquiries concerning the book of mormon, its role in the institutions scientific activities, and a number of specific informational questions about ancient american archaeology.
He received an ma in archaeology from byu and a phd in anthropology from ucla. Jan 01, 2000 in this text, sorenson reconstructs the internal geography of the book of mormon. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Lunds recent book on religion is titled joseph smith and the geography of the book of mormon 2012. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. I admit that my own model was tainted by preconceptions john sorenson, the geography of book of mormon events, pp. John sorensons mormons codex examines book of mormon. Hemispheric geography theory lds have traditionally interpreted the text hemispherically and assumed a blank continent. The sorenson limited geography for the book of mormon is an important foundation of and monument to his legacy. Regarding point 1, i have read all of sorensons works and most of what farms and the maxwell institute have. It was sorenson who first proposed that the scriptures action likely took place in guatemala and southern mexico, rather than encompassing both north and south america. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to christs coming to america.
Even though the mormon church formally denies endorsing any geographical theory regarding the location of book of mormon events, its many book of mormon editions, film strips, pamphlets and professors using images and references exclusively of the mesoamerican area speaks otherwise. This notion, of course, purports to offer a mesoamerican locale for book of mormon events. In this book are a number of future book of mormon names, which appeared within alphabetized lists. Book of mormongeographynew worldlimited geography theory. Sorenson, a retired professor of anthropology at byu, and the author of an ancient american setting for the book of mormon and a series of articles on book of mormon geography that ran. There was a book published in 1791 by john walker entitled, a key to the classical pronunciation of greek, latin, and scripture proper names. This book deals with the varoius proposed geographies of the book of mormon since its initial publication in 1830. Very good book, it gave a very plausible realworld setting for the book of mormon, and i think sorenson is definitely on to something. Willes book of mormon studies lecture, presented september 8, 2011 on the campus of brigham young university. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon. Sorenson, one of the foremost students on the subject, identified over 600 passages relevant to geography. Stephen houston, one of the leading maya archaeologists in the world, currently the dupee family professor of social sciences at brown university, gave the inaugural john l.
An ancient american book see a video further down the page. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith. The likelihood of such a setting was greatly strengthened by john l. Sorensons model of book of mormon geography, specifically its identification of the grijalva river as the river sidon. By careful study of that time period we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that. The two big problems with the mesoamerican model for book of mormon geography are 1 there is zero evidence of the book of mormon narrative there and 2 the proponents insist joseph didnt know much about the book of mormon.
Before we examine some of the possible locations for book of mormon geography however, i would like to stress the fact that as of today, the lord has not revealed where the nephites or lamanites lived, and as such, the lds church has taken no official stance on anything related to book of mormon geography. Sorenson s work is the best ive yet read on book of mormon geography. The geography of book of mormon events a source book by john l. Mormons codex is the culmination of a lifetimes labor by mormonisms preeminent mesoamerican specialist. His best known book prior to this was an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, published in 1985. Numerous attempts have been made to diagram physical and political geographies depicting features mentioned in the text, but this requires many additional assumptions and is difficult to accomplish without making approximate relationships appear precise sorenson, 1991. 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 book of mormon and the united states of america 2009, by bruce h. Published on may 26, 2020 some may wonder why i dont use john l. Sorenson said the book will cover at least 420 points at which the book of mormon has mesoamerican material in it, material that could not possibly have been included by anyone except an ancient mesoamerican writer of the fourth century a. Since 1949 john sorenson has been collecting archaeological and anthropological evidence to show that joseph smith translated the book of mormon from a native mesoamerican codex, or book.
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