Answer to the Question above: “It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ.”
On this blog I have been showing you a lot of archaeological artifacts of items found in North America, some with a tie to the Hebrew language. I want to be clear with my readers. Just because I post it on this blog doesn’t mean it is authentic. I share information to expand our desire to view all things that have been found and validate them by means of study and prayer. As Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things.”
I love what Elder Holland said. “Truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart… Truth borne by the Holy Spirit comes with, in effect, two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling… I believe God intends us to find and use the evidence He has given—reasons, if you will—which affirm the truthfulness of His work… Evidence is still evidence even if it is not immediately observable…” The Greatness of the Evidence By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland August 16, 2017
The Spirit of truth can be physical and spiritual. I feel strongly that this land of the United States is the Promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon and this book is the Word of God. Because of that, I believe we will find secondary evidences to assist us if needed. I have seen many in the Church who don’t have a strong witness of the Spirit that have found a new hope in physical evidence of the Book of Mormon as a real history of a real people. I have a friend that has struggled with a testimony, but as soon as I discussed the Mound Builders, an actual real people of history, he began researching and found his knowledge about these Mound Builders to spark a renewed desire to read and pray again about the Book of Mormon.
I am just a typical Saint trying hard to share information whether physical or spiritual that I feel will help each of you study and pray on your own to strengthen your own testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you haven’t read Jonathan Neville’s book titled “Mesomania” it is a great read. As I read it today I remember back to that zeal I had for 40 years about the Mesoamerican Theory. That zeal is now heavily focused in the Heartland and I am blessed to know this great country is indeed the place spoken of in the Book of Mormon.
“Too Much Paganism”
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. said, “I attended sessions of meetings for the institute teachers, held in the assembly room on the fourth floor of the Church Office Building. I cannot say that I was very greatly edified. Too much philosophy of a worldly nature does not seem to mix well with the fundamentals of the gospel. In my opinion many of our teachers employed in the church school system have absorbed too much of the paganism of the world, and have accepted too readily the views of uninspired educators without regard for the revealed word of the Lord.
What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years [since his father’s death]. What the future will bring I do not know. But if we drift as far afield from fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road? The more I see of educated men—I mean those who are trained in the doctrines and philosophies now taught in the world, the less regard I have for them. Modern theories which are so popular today just do not harmonize with the gospel as revealed to the prophets, and it would be amusing if it were not a tragedy to see how some of our educated brethren attempt to harmonize the theories of men with the revealed word of the Lord. Thank the Lord, there is still some faith left and some members who still cherish the word of the Lord and accept the prophets. Surely the world is ripening rapidly for the destruction, and Satan has power and dominion over his own. If any are saved surely the Lord must soon come and have power over his Saints and reign in their midst, and execute ‘judgment upon Idumea, or the world.” Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., and John J. Stewart, The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 210 – 211.
Why False Doctrine is Allowed at BYU
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
“A desire to follow a prophet is surely a great and appropriate strength, but even this has its potentially dangerous manifestations. I have heard of more than one group who are so intent on following the words of a dead prophet that they have rejected the teachings and counsel of the living ones.… Following the prophet is a great strength, but it needs to be consistent and current lest it lead to the spiritual downfall that comes from rejecting continuous revelation. Under that principle, the most important difference between dead prophets and living ones is that those who are dead are not here to receive and declare the Lord’s latest words to his people. If they were, there would be no differences among the messages of the prophets.” Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall DALLIN H. OAKS Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Mesoamerican Distraction
By way of explanation, I’m not criticizing any current LDS scholars. I fully respect their efforts and deeply appreciate the good work they’ve done in many fields. Plus, they’re great people. I just think they’re making a fundamental mistake about the geography question and I’m just trying to understand the psychology behind the Mesoamerican theory. It’s a fascinating topic, and I have a much longer manuscript, but everyone wants short books, so I made the Mesomania as short as I could.
For those new to this blog, I don’t care what anyone thinks about Book of Mormon geography and historicity so long as it works for them and gets them to read the text and incorporate the teachings.
However, it seems obvious that the vast majority of the people in the world reject the Book of Mormon as a legitimate, authentic history. This includes members of the Church, too many of whom are inactive. Even among active members, many don’t think the Book of Mormon is an authentic history. I do.
And I think the Mesoamerican theory is a distraction that deters people from accepting the Book of Mormon as an authentic history. Of course, there are some people who find great value in seeing Mesoamerican culture in the text. That’s fine. As I said, whatever works. You can apply the scriptures to yourselves by reading into the text attributes of African culture, Chilean culture, etc.
But when the scholars present only the Mesoamerican theory to their students (or, just as bad, an abstract map theory), and seek to present only that theory to the world through missionary work, in my view it’s a serious mistake because, as Joseph Fielding Smith warned, the theory causes members (and investigators) to become confused and disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.
I think the Mesoamerican distraction originated with Benjamin Winchester, William Smith and others in the 1840s, but it died down until the 1920s when the limited geography setting in Mesoamerica was developed by RLDS scholars. They were the first to reject the New York Cumorah; so far as I can discover, not a single person who knew Joseph rejected the New York Cumorah.
LDS scholars at BYU gradually adopted the RLDS position over the objection of Joseph Fielding Smith, and that’s where we are today.
I’m hoping we can change course, embrace Letter VII and the other early teachings, and become united as LDS who have full faith in the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
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In Mesomania, I explain my views on the psychology that drives the effort by modern LDS scholars to promote the Mesoamerican theory. Among other things, they are seeking to accomplish these objectives:
1. Reject Letter VII by characterizing Oliver Cowdery as a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.
2. Reject David Whitmer’s accounts because he, too, was a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.
3. Portray Joseph Smith as an uncertain man who 1) embraced a false tradition about the Hill Cumorah in New York and 2) changed his mind about the North American setting and embraced a Mesoamerican setting with the expectation that modern LDS scholars would answer the questions about Book of Mormon geography.
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For me, those objectives undermine faith and are the fulfillment of Joseph Fielding Smith’s warning. [Quote Below]
And it’s all so unnecessary.
Which is why I want to understand the psychology, and why I wrote Mesomania. Blog by Jonathan Neville Visit Here
Joseph Fielding Smith- “Greatly Disturbed in their Faith”
I have a strong belief that there is only one Hill Cumorah in upstate new York. It has been written about by hundreds of Prophets and Apostles. It makes sense and I challenge readers to listen to the words of an Apostle below. Here are hundreds of other quotes!
“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all…
It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
The Challenge of Zeal
“Critics of the Book of Mormon point to the lack of physical evidence to corroborate the narrative in the text, but the real problem is choosing among the abundant evidences. Almost no matter where you look in the Americas, scientists are uncovering more and more physical evidence of ancient civilizations that expands our understanding and appreciation of these cultures. These civilizations were more extensive and more sophisticated than previous generations realized.
But that’s a topic for another day.
Here, I want to address the challenge of zeal. Advocates of most theories of Book of Mormon geography have a certain degree of zeal or they wouldn’t be advocates. Nothing wrong with zeal, per se. You need zeal to accomplish anything. But you can also have excessive zeal, and we want to be cognizant of that so we don’t make counterproductive mistakes.
At the same time, we don’t want to dismiss a proposed setting just because some advocates have emphasized artifacts that turn out not to be what they were once thought to be, or are represented to be. That’s just as irrational as relying on the artifacts in the first place.
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In the area of Book of Mormon archaeology, probably the best-known mistake is Izapa Stela 5, the so-called “Lehi’s Tree of Life” stone. For decades, it was promoted as proof that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica.
The Church even got involved. An article in the 1985 Ensign evaluates Stela 5 and says, “If this is true—and, again, we must remain cautious and tentative until all the evidence is in—Stela 5 may prove to be the first deciphered artifact from the Nephite civilization.”
That’s some powerful hype.
Stela 5 was again on display in the Liahona magazine in 2010.
There’s a replica of Stela 5 on display at the Utah Cultural Center. For years, you could buy replicas at Deseret Book and the BYU bookstore. I’ve seen them in the homes of many Latter-day Saints. I’ve seen replicas in offices. Stela 5 has become the emblem of the Mesoamerican theory for many people.
Even the wikipedia article on Stela 5 comments on this:
“Based on parallels with traditions originating in the Old World, a few researchers have linked the stone to theories of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. Mormon theorist M. Wells Jakeman proposed that the image was a representation of a tree of life vision found in the Book of Mormon. Jakeman’s theory was popular for a time among Mormons, but found little support from Mormon apologists. Julia Guernsey finds that Jakeman’s research “belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5’s heritage”.
In fact, I have an article from 2004 titled “Izapa Stela 5: Deception in Stone” by Kathryn Egan that demonstrates the stone has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon, but the myth persisted anyway.
I think it’s fair to say now that the link between Stela 5 and the Book of Mormon has been largely abandoned by LDS scholars, including those who otherwise believe the Mesoamerican setting. I attended a seminar last year when this was announced and the audience seemed upset and disappointed. Nevertheless, the connection persists in LDS culture. Just google “Stela 5” and you’ll find lots of examples.
Does this example of poor evidence invalidate the Mesoamerican theory? Of course not. We should recognize people make mistakes. Research continues throughout the Americas.
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Historical note. The first “proof” artifact from South America was brought to Nauvoo in 1842. These were paper facsimiles taken from a 20-foot long hieroglyphic engraving on a rock in South America. It purported to show Lehi crossing the “large waters” before landing on this continent, as well as their travels and encampments. They were presented to Joseph Smith. If you have never heard about this, it’s because Joseph didn’t give it any credence. Just like we shouldn’t give any credence to physical evidence that doesn’t add up.
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There is unreliable physical evidence everywhere we look, both because of fakes and because of illusory “correspondences” that we hope will validate our expectations.
I’m hoping we can all work together to support evidence that corroborates the Book of Mormon wherever it is found.”
Source: Jonathan Neville Book of Mormon Wars
