“I believe it is important to understand the other most prevalent geography theory of the Book of Mormon, the Mesoamerican Theory. As one who believes that the Book of Mormon events happened in North America, for over 40 years I believed (or was taught by Sunday school, seminary, and church literature), all about Mesoamerica, and nothing about the Heartland. Only after much prayer and search did I find the Heartland Model, and was blessed to meet Rod Meldrum. Heartland Model is the most accurate theory of all. In fact, knowing that Hill Cumorah in NY is the only hill where the Nephites and Jaredites had their last battles, I listened and read and prayed about this one aspect, and it has become an important part of my testimony.
Why I love the Book of Mormon
“I was first taught and inspired about the North American Model by Rod Meldrum. The WorksofJoseph.com (My Website), maps included in our Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon were created after being inspired while reading the book Moroni’s America by Jonathan Neville. However, I want others to know that the spiritual messages of the Book of Mormon are more important than the geography. But I also believe the historical accuracy is critical to my full comprehension of the ‘most correct book’ (Joseph Smith Jr.) on the earth. I believe most Latter-day Saints agree that the Garden of Eden, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Cumorah are located in North America, and most know that the New Jerusalem will be built upon the American Continent or in Missouri.(Articles of Faith #10, Doctrine and Covenants 84:1-4). It just makes sense to me that the Book of Mormon history also occurred in the United States of America, as other sacred events did.
My ideas have been shaped based on Joseph Smith’s writings that the Hill Cumorah is in Manchester, New York (Letter VII), that Joseph did have a vision of Zelph who was a Book of Mormon Chieftain in Illinois (Joseph Smith Papers), and Joseph did write a letter to Emma June 4, 1834 telling her that he was ‘wandering over the plains of the Nephites,’ in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. (Joseph Smith Papers). I also believe the Promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon is indeed the choice land of the United States. I desire that this blog of Book of Mormon events will inspire you and teach you more about the spiritual message of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
Rian Nelson The Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 522
Below is Book of Mormon Centrals Opinion of their claim the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica from their website.
Below the BOMC words in Black and my opinions in red.
Published on Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (http://www.bmaf.org)Home > which is owned by Book of Mormon Central
Why Mesoamerica?
Criteria for Book of Mormon Lands and People
There are several theories held among Latter-day Saints for the location of Book of Mormon lands. Some place the geography of the book in upstate New York or near the Great Lakes. Others look to Peru and South America, or to the Baja Peninsula, or Texas, and some even propose the Malaysian Peninsula. BMAF supports a Mesoamerican context for the major Book of Mormon sites. Other locations may meet some of the following criteria, but only Mesoamerica meets all these elements required by the book itself. This list of criteria is not a cafeteria list. Any Book of Mormon lands proposal must be able to demonstrate all.
It must demonstrate all below in the opinion of BOMC, not in my opinion. This statement also shows that BMAF is not neutral as they claim but they are one-sided in their view of where the Book of Mormon took place. But on their BOMC website they claim neutrality so they are in line with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who keep a neutral position which is fine with us. We, Book of Mormon Evidence.org is not neutral. We believe the Book of Mormon events happened in North America and the Lamanites spread to all parts of the hemisphere after the final battles in New York.
| A Narrow Neck of land and 4 seas (east, west, north, and south) Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Erie, Michigan, Huron | |
| A major river running south to north from a narrow strip of wilderness. Why south? The Index to the Triple Combination doesn’t have this requirement. See Here: | |
| A high civilization with cities, kings, artisans, military, and priests There are over 1,000,000 mound and settlements in North America See Proof Here: | |
An agricultural base large enough to support several millions of people Are you kidding. Is there anything larger than the Mississippi agricultural base? See Chart and map below.  “The table above examines the land and water systems required to support large armies found in pre-modern history. The table shows that before the modern era a population of at least 30,000,000 living in a land area of 1,000,000 square miles where rivers discharge at least 1,000,000 cubic feet of water per second could support military forces of 500,000 men. The table shows that these conditions for supporting 500,000 armed forces were satisfied for (1) the Persian Armies in Eurasia in 500 BC, (2) for the Mauryan Empire in India in 300 BC, (3) for the Han Dynasty in China in AD 1, (4) for the Nephite-Lamanite Nations in North America in AD 385, (5) for the Gupta Dynasty in India in AD 375, and (6) for the Roman Empire in Eurasia of AD 420. All these cases there were pre-industrial societies. In all these cases there were armies of about 500,000 men.” John Lefgren | |
| A highly literate (written language) society with scribes as important officers Yes the Nephites would have scribes and records that’s why they buried them to protect them from Lamanites. | |
| Functional calendar and dating systems Nephites had the moon and stars. Mayan’s had the sun and stars. He Hebrews used the moon as a calendar just like the North American Natives. “Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.” Omni 1:21 | |
| A merchant class using weights and measures Native Americans used Wampum as legal tender. | |
| Engineers to build houses, temples, towers, and highways using cement Page 207, 303 Annotated Book of Mormon | |
| Highly skilled craftsmen working with precious metals and stonework Annotated Book of Mormon pg. 207, 303 | |
| A warrior society involved in large battles using trained soldiers and sophisticated fortifications There are breastplates, arrowheads, pottery, proof of fires, roads, and buildings of earth and wood all over North America. Alma 49:11-12 | |
| Legends of a white, bearded God Native Americans have Legends of the Great Spirit. (One god) |
These Criteria must be in the Western Hemisphere but where Joseph Smith could not have known about them in 1829.
For more information click here [1] and browse through the articles
in section 2 “The Mesoamerica Model.” WHY THE GREAT LAKES/HEARTLAND MODEL DOES NOT QUALIFY(1) No major river running South to North, Mississippi River flows North to South The Tennessee river the New River, the Genesee Rivers all run south to north, but that is not something that is even mentioned in the Book of Mormon, only that Zarahemla is on the west of River Sidon, which Montrose, Iowa is west of the Mississippi River, which we believe is the River Sidon. See my Blog Here
(2) No mountainous strip of wilderness that can hide Gadianton robbers, defend against Lamanites and serve as military dividing line for Captain Moroni(Alma 22:33-34,50:11) Silly argument, have you seen all the caves, wilderness, strips, etc in North America? Of course.
(3) Very little gold and silver east of the Mississippi Are you kidding me? The world’s richest supply of copper in Isle Royal in Michigan. Gold, Silver and Copper all of the mountains of eastern Tennessee.
(4) No evidence of cement buildings anywhere in eastern U.S. or Canada, archaeologists have determined that the vast majority of discovered archaeological sites dating to the time period of the Book of Mormon are located in Mesoamerica The Nephites built with earth and wood 90% of the time, not stone and mortar. See blog here
(5) No evidence that Adena and Hopewell co-existed for 250 years Well they just aren’t looking. Ohio archeologists, (not Mormon archaeologists) find the opposite. Look at this map just from Wikipedia and check the resources. Source of the map below is Here
(6) Adena and Hopewell were not true civilizations, but were small, loosely knit, family related units with no evidence of a written language. The area in and around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec constituted the embryo for both the calendar system and the written language of the Americas. This fact alone virtually eliminates any other geographical area from being considered as “lands of the Book of Mormon” Meso believers may be from the great and spacious building. Just research Adena or Hopewell and see this quote. “The most common question that is asked about mounds is, “How many exist?” In the 1800’s the Smithsonian sponsored many expeditions to identify mound sites across America. A map (shown below) was produced by Cyrus Thomas in 1894 in a Bureau of Ethnology book. They found approximately 100,000 mound sites, many with complexes containing 2 to 100 mounds. The figure of 100,000 mounds once existing— based on Cyrus Thomas map revealing 100,000 sites—is often cited by others, but that estimate is far, far too low. After visiting several thousand mounds and reviewing the literature, I am fairly certain that over 1,000,000 mounds once existed and that perhaps 100,000 still exist. Oddly, some new mound sites are discovered each year by archaeological surveys in remote areas. But in truth, a large majority of America’s mounds have been completely destroyed by farming, construction, looting, and deliberate total excavations” – Gregory L. Little, Ed.D., The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Mounds & Earthworks, Eagle Wing Books, Inc., Memphis, TN [2009].
(7) So-called DNA “Proofs” use unsubstantiated theories. Joseph Smith did not receive revelation where Book of Mormon lands were located, but his last statements about Book of Mormon geography point us to Mesoamerica (click here [2] to see what Joseph Smith said about Mesoamerica) They want to show you a biased FAIRMormon video for proof? Look at this article from National Geographic and this blog
(9) Columbus was directed to “the promised land,” yet he never visited North America. So San Salvador and the Bahamas was part of South America? Read my blog here and one here
For more information click here [1] and browse through the articles in the section “The Heartland Model.” (Click their link if you want more bias about the Heartland model) Yes I have a bias also, but all I want you, the reader to do is compare the two, pray about them and make what ever decision you would like. I choose the Heartland Model.
Source URL: http://www.bmaf.org/about/why_mesoamerica
http://www.bmaf.org/about/why_mesoamerica
Narrow Necks
The narrow neck mentioned in the Book of Mormon is one of the most well-known parts of the geography. But, how many narrow necks are there in the world? There are some major criteria needed for a world location to fit the Book of Mormon geography: There must be no cold or snow. There is only one reference to snow (I Nephi 3:46 [11:8], “…and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.”) This statement was made by Nephi in the Valley of Lemuel (in the Old World). So, the people in the Book of Mormon knew snow, yet there are no references to cold or snow mentioned in the Promised Land. See my blog about snow here
There must be an east wind of destruction. As for wind, there are several different kinds of references used. The use of “wind” is very distinct and purposeful. The descriptions range from mild wind to winds of destruction (“whirlwinds” and “east wind”). A key description for locating the lands of the Book of Mormon is that is has to be someplace where a wind from the east is strong enough to cause immediate destruction and occurs often enough to be useful as an analogy. In Mosiah 5:50 [7:31], “…they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.
”There is criteria for the narrow neck. A key description is in Alma 13:76 [22:32]: And now it was only the distance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful, and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea. Many people interpret this to describe the west sea to the east sea, but it just describes a point to the east. It is important to note that this description does NOT describe going all the way to the sea east, just to a point on the east. A similar construction is seen in Alma 22:8 [50:8]: And the land of Nephi did run in a straight course from the east sea to the west. Again, both seas are not mentioned, just a point (to the west). So, how many miles can a person travel in 1.5 days? It is very easy for a fit person to travel 40 miles in a day over unimproved trails (60 miles in a day and a half). American Indian runners have been known to run 75 to 100 miles per day.
Travel through jungle where no trails exist can be as low as 10 to 15 miles per day (the lower limit).The world record for a 48-hour run is 428,890 meters (266 miles), or 200 miles in a day and a half on a perfectly flat track (the upper limit). Canoe travel on flat, smooth, fast-flowing rivers can be up to 326 miles in 24 hours, but only one river meets this criteria (Yukon). Otherwise, believe it or not, travel is the same, or less, than foot travel.
See my blog here about the 3 Necks in the Book of Mormon and one here
As a best estimate, the width of the narrow neck should be between 15 and 200 miles.
There must be a north-flowing river south of the narrow neck. The river Sidon headwaters are in the South Wilderness which are south of the narrow neck.
There must be elevated areas on the west and south parts of the land. There is a south wilderness and the Hermounts were on the west. See my complete Blog here about geography
There must be an elevated area on the east that borders an east sea. The east wilderness bordered the east sea.
There must be at least two large bodies of water north of the narrow neck. Helaman 2:3-4 [3:3] …there were an exceeding great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto the land northward, to inherit the land; And they did travel to an exceeding great distance, insomuch that they came to large bodies of water, and many rivers.
There needs to be significant geological forces (earthquakes, volcanism, and tsunamis) that can explain the destructions described in III Nephi. Earthquakes alone will do it. There are the least earthquakes in the world that occur in Mesoamerica and the greatest number in the USA at tornado alley. No volcanoes in the Book of Mormon, but whirlwinds are far more frequent in North America. See my blog here.
Different locations that have narrow necks are listed below. Each has an assessment of these major criteira.
https://sites.google.com/site/bomgeography/narrow-necks
Baja California Denmark Egypt England Florida Italy Korea Malaysia Mexico Nicaragua Panama Russia Turkey Turkey/Georgia/Russia
The Book of Mormon is not Mormonism (This is a strange article)
http://www.restoredgospel.com/Scriptures1/Shell_TheBookOfMormonIsNotMormonism.php
The Book of Mormon teaches against the notions of ‘Mormonism’
The Book of Mormon does Not Teach Mormonism
Not all people who believe the Book of Mormon are ‘Mormons.’Many have found the words to be true and everything it claims to be: an inspired record of Israelites with a profound and relevant testimony of Jesus Christ. These people have found the record to be true, yet have no association with the strange theologies many have come to know as ‘Mormonism.’ But because many have formed biases against the Book of Mormon before ever opening its cover, assurances are required, chiefly: The Book of Mormon is Not Mormonism.
Mormonism is associated with strange practices—strange to the Christian walk—like polygamy, celestial marriage, plurality of Gods, etc.But the Book of Mormon teaches none of these doctrines, and many who believe The Book of Mormon’s authenticity have no association with these practices. It simply does not teach them.
Assuming that all Book of Mormon believers espouse strange doctrines (polygamy, etc.) or that the Book of Mormon teaches these ideas is like assuming that historically all Americans were slave holders and advocated slavery because the constitution encouraged it. Slavery was not practiced by all Americans; some espoused it, most despised it, yet the constitution taught none of it. In the American civil war, some fought for slavery, and many fought against slavery, yet both would go home and read the same bible at night. Yet the U.S. constitution never advocated slavery. Slavery was a historical practice adopted by some outside the country’s written constitution. Similarly, practices of ‘Mormonism’ have no association with the Book of Mormon.
To assume anyone who believes the Book of Mormon must advocate ‘Mormonism’ is akin to assuming any American citizen must have advocated slavery in its day, or abortion in our day, just because they are US citizens. Because some practiced these crimes, does not mean every citizen advocated, and more importantly the crimes were not advocated by the original ‘doctrine.’
Such is also true of the Book of Mormon. Strange doctrines of polygamy, celestial marriage, plurality of Gods, temple ordinances—none of these ideas come from the Book of Mormon. They were all ideas instituted and practiced by men separate from the Book of Mormon’s teachings.
This is a very disturbing article above by BOMC. To say, “strange to the Christian walk—like polygamy, celestial marriage, plurality of Gods, etc. But the Book of Mormon teaches none of these doctrines”, BOMC is refuting polygamy and celestial marriage and plurality of Gods? Mormonism is what others call us not what we believe. To try and separate Mormonism from our eternal doctrine is weird and dangerous.
From this point below it is all information from our Heartland Theory.
Below are two Headland maps which represent the many changes over the years to the BOMC maps. They started with the 1917 LE Hills RLDS map they adopted, then to the east west directional typical Mesoamerican map, and now they have rotated it 45 degrees as a fantasy map which now aligns north to south as the Book of Mormon discusses. Our North American Heartland map has always aligned north to south as you see in the second map below.
The Most Misunderstood Quote by Mesoamerican Theorists is Below.
“You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion–where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south.” President Joseph Smith’s Remarks–The Whole of America Zion–April Conference, 1844 Section Six 1843-44, p.362
I explain this quote from Joseph above, in the blog here.
