Cumorah 2024 - 3. Origin and promotion of M2C

The Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory (M2C), which claims that the Book of Mormon events in the promised land took place in Mesoamerica (Central America), originated over 100 years ago. 

For an article about the origins of M2C, see

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/the-m2c-narrative-origin-and.html

Currently, M2C is being heavily promoted by influential LDS scholars and organizations, including 4 whom we will discuss next week. They're all awesome people and careful scholars who have many followers. 

And we respect M2C as one of multiple working hypotheses. On this and other blogs, we encourage people to learn all they can about M2C. We host comparisons of different hypotheses, such as this one.

https://www.lettervii.com/p/rationality-comparison-chart-cumorah.html

We want people to make informed decisions for themselves, all in the spirit of understanding instead of persuasion, compulsion, compliance, etc. We reject deference to others' opinions, regardless of how many credentials they claim, their positions at BYU, or how much money they have.

We think the teachings of the prophets and the scriptures are clear, simple, and profound--and more than sufficient for every Latter-day Saint to understand the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.

As part of the pursuit of clarity, next week we will discuss the four principal promoters of M2C in our day. These include:

1. Scripture Central, led by John W. (Jack) Welch, who co-founded FARMS, then Book of Mormon Central. He and Kirk Magleby, the current "Evangelist" for Scripture Central, are awesome people who have been promoting M2C for decades.

2. FAIRLDS, led by Scott Gordon.

3. Interpreter Foundation, led by Dan Peterson.

4. Tyler Griffin, who developed the BYU Fantasy Map and who is featured on Scripture Central's Come Follow Me podcasts.

_____

Despite the efforts of these fine scholars, there remain many Latter-day Saints who still believe the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah/Ramah. For us, the evidence from Church history and the scriptures is unambiguous. The New York setting is corroborated by extrinsic evidence from archaeology, anthropology, geology, geography, etc.

We recognize that others have different interpretations and opinions, and that's fine with us. We hope that everyone interested in the Book of Mormon can make informed decisions for themselves about such topics as these:

(i) whether Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, and David Whitmer told the truth about the New York Cumorah/Ramah;

(ii) whether subsequent prophets were correct about the New York Cumorah/Ramah; 

and 

(iii) whether the modern M2C theory should be the only theory taught to Latter-day Saints.

_____

Disencumbering Latter-day Saints from the confusion and complexity of M2C reveals the beauty and simplicity of the New York Cumorah/Ramah.

It's like freeing a water lily from spirogyra.