Veteran's Day

Because this blog is named Book of Mormon Wars, it seems fitting that I recognize our veterans today. As a military veteran myself, I know first-hand how awesome the men and women in our military are, and how committed they are to preserving freedom and defending the nation.

My thanks to all of them.

I'd also like to recognize an awesome military veteran whose words reflect what I believe most members of the military think:

"Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country."

Happy Veterans Day!

How to manufacture your own Cumorah

The text of the Book of Mormon is flexible enough to let you manufacture your own Hill Cumorah pretty much anywhere in the world.

If you like Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Panama, Guatemala, Yucatan, southern Mexico, Baja... Take your pick or add your own favorite.

No problem. No problem at all.

Of all the places I've visited, I'm thinking the south of France would be a fun place to put Cumorah. I could visit there often to do research. Another great place would be Rio de Janeiro. Or maybe the south island of New Zealand.

If you want to invent a Hill Cumorah in your favorite part of the world, you just need to:

1) ignore what the modern prophets and apostles have said* and

2) apply a flexible interpretation of the Book of Mormon text.

I put together a video that shows how to manufacture a Hill Cumorah in Mexico. It's based on one of my favorite blogs to follow. You can use the same techniques described on that blog to put Cumorah wherever you want.

https://youtu.be/zUZbgyu6-AI

*Note: You'll notice in the video how important it is to start with step #1. Don't skip step #1. This is the key to manufacturing your own Cumorah. If you make a mistake and pay attention to what the modern prophets and apostles have said, you pretty much have to stick with the Cumorah in western New York, a couple of miles south of Palmyra. That's not nearly as fun as inventing your own Cumorah in Mexico or wherever else you want.

List of Essential Features

On my Mesomania blog, I posted a list of essential features for any theory of Book of Mormon geography. Check it out here: http://mormonmesomania.blogspot.com/2016/11/essential-features-of-geography.html
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I need to explain something along these lines. I often refer to "LDS scholars and educators." It would be more accurate to write "some LDS scholars and educators." I know of LDS scholars and educators who do follow the prophets and apostles and accept the New York Cumorah as the Mormon 6:6 Cumorah.

But either they don't write and submit articles, or the citation cartel refuses to publish them.

I hope it's clear that in the context of Book of Mormon geography, I'm referring to the LDS scholars and educators who teach and promote a non-New York Cumorah. There is a relatively small group of LDS scholars who have been teaching the "two-Cumorahs" theory for decades, but they've influenced generations of LDS educators, who in turn have taught generations of students.

There may be many LDS scholars and educators who don't accept the non-New York Cumorah ideas. Countless LDS people have told me they never believed the Mesoamerican stuff, but they never spoke out because they either thought the Church had approved it or they didn't know there were alternative ideas about a North American setting that accepted what the prophets and apostles have said about Cumorah in New York.

In some cases, teachers in the Church have felt compelled to teach the Mesoamerican stuff even when they didn't personally believe it.

This is understandable because the citation cartel has been very effective at suppressing Letter VII.

If you're an LDS scholar or educator, or a teacher in the Church at any level, and you choose to follow the prophets and apostles instead of the scholars who reject them, then I encourage you to speak out. 

Make Cumorah Great Again - November 2016

People are fed up with elitists telling us what to think and do.

Brexit.

Trump.

Next stop: LDS scholars who reject our prophets and apostles on the location of Cumorah.
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I'm kidding, a little. But there is an important point here.

I do think it's time to Make Cumorah Great Again.

For too long, LDS scholars and educators have managed to cast doubt on our prophets and apostles, beginning with Joseph and Oliver, over this simple issue of the Hill Cumorah. Their influence, which I call Mesomania, has infiltrated Church art and media and education, to the point where, sadly, many LDS people can't unsee Mesoamerica when they read and think about the Book of Mormon.

I've tried in as many ways as I can think of to explain this issue.

I've traced the intellectual history, showing that it was not irrational to move Cumorah from New York to southern Mexico. Except that to do so, the scholars had to repudiate the prophets.

I've addressed the specific arguments made by LDS scholars and educators who established and continue to promote the two-Cumorahs theory.

I've shown that Joseph and Oliver were consistent and persistent on the location of Cumorah (meaning the Mormon 6:6 Cumorah), as were every one of their contemporaries.

I've shown that the effort of scholars to link the New York Cumorah with the hemispheric model doesn't hold up.

I've shown that the scholars' rhetorical arguments based on the text are circular arguments designed solely to justify their predetermined conclusion that the Book of Mormon took place in a limited area of Mesoamerica.

I've shown that the articles and books purporting to cite archaeology were flawed and misrepresented the actual archaeological evidence.

I've shown how Joseph Fielding Smith's prophetic warning about the two-Cumorahs theory has been vindicated by what's happening right now.

If I've missed any arguments or evidence, I'd like to know about them.
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I remain optimistic that at least some LDS scholars and educators will change their views about Cumorah. In the meantime, every member of the Church should realize that any theory of geography that puts Cumorah somewhere other than New York is contradicting every prophet and apostle who has spoken on this issue.

Solving Cumorah

Here's a pop quiz you can take or try on your friends.

Is Cumorah in North America or Central America?

A large majority of the LDS people I've asked say Cumorah is in New York. Probably 90% of Church members would say that. Usually, they wonder why I ask about Central America.

Typically, people say something such as, "It never made sense to me that Moroni carried the plates all the way to New York from Mexico, but I never thought much about it."

That's a tell for cognitive dissonance. People avoid thinking about the obvious problem created by Mesomania because it makes them uncomfortable.  

Plus, they don't realize what LDS scholars and educators are teaching about Cumorah and they're usually surprised when I tell them. 

Most members of the Church accept the New York Cumorah, but they also think the Church has endorsed a Central American setting for most of the events of the Book of Mormon. How could they not, the way Mesomania has permeated LDS culture? But this creates the uncomfortable cognitive dissonance that they mitigate by blocking the obvious questions from their minds. 

I should say, most active members just avoid thinking about it. People who do think about it do one of three things:

1. Reject the scholars and educators.

2. Reject the prophets and apostles.

3. Reject all of the above because of the confusion caused by the scholars.

It really is this basic and simple.

I wish everyone would reject the scholars and educators, but that's difficult if you're a student. And what you learn in Church education stays with you. If you're a missionary, you have to show people images of Central America when you introduce them to the Book of Mormon. 

It's unbelievable.

Unbelievable in the sense that missionaries actually have to use these images, and unbelievable in the sense that it is simply not believable to most investigators--especially those who actually read the book and don't find anything about jungles and Mayans and pyramids.

I hope no one rejects the prophets and apostles just because the scholars do. 

And I wish no one rejected all of the above, but unfortunately that may be the most common response to the conflict. It's what most investigators do, for sure. 

On the topic of Cumorah, I think 99% of Church members will choose to accept the prophets and apostles instead of LDS scholars once they learn there is a conflict between the two. 

Resolving the Cumorah question is really a matter of educating the Saints.

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Look at it this way. The New York Cumorah was declared by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and corroborated by David Whitmer and Lucy Mack Smith. These were the only ones involved with the Book of Mormon before it was printed who commented on Cumorah. Later, every contemporary of Joseph Smith's who mentioned Cumorah agreed that it was in New York. Later prophets and apostles, including Joseph Fielding Smith, Marion G. Romney, and Mark E. Peterson, also said Cumorah was in New York.

On the other hand, not a single prophet or apostle has ever said Cumorah was in Mexico--or anywhere else other than New York.

Key point: the only ones who insist Cumorah is not in New York are LDS scholars and the educators who follow them.

It's a simple choice for each member of the Church: Do you follow the prophets and apostles, or do you follow the scholars?

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If you want to get a sense for the difference between prophets and apostles vs. scholars, read Letter VII. Then read this blog post. Compare the two approaches.

In Letter VII*, you have the Assistant President of the Church making a matter-of-fact observation that the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites took place in the mile-wide valley west of the hill Cumorah in New York. He describes Mormon standing at the top of the hill surveying the carnage, etc. Then you have Joseph Smith including it in his own history and having it reprinted so every Latter-day Saint can read it. Simple, clear, authoritative, declarative.

In the scholarly analysis, you have no mention of prophets and apostles. Instead, you have a series of strained interpretations of the text and inferences designed to fit a preconceived narrative that supports the Mesoamerican setting. You have a claim that Cumorah must be "in a location prone to seismic and volcanic activity," even though the text never mentions volcanoes. I hope by now readers can see how the 30 criteria specified in that article are imaginary. Complex, confusing, speculative, and hypothetical.

For me, it's an easy decision.

How about you?

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* People reading this blog know about Letter VII. (If you don't, go to this blog http://www.lettervii.com/ right now.)

 

Distinguishing between anti-Mormon and Mesoamerican proponents

Questions have arisen about my observation that there are two groups who seek to impeach (or cast doubt on) the credibility and reliability of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith. I hope this post simplifies and clarifies the point.

The two groups who desire to impeach Joseph and Oliver are:

Group A. Those who believe Cumorah is not in New York.

Group B. Those who believe Cumorah does not exist.

Group A includes faithful LDS scholars, educators and members who believe Cumorah is not in New York because it is in Baja, Southern Mexico, Panama, Chile, Peru, or any of a number of other locations, so long as it is not in New York.

Group B includes detractors (anti-Mormons) who believe Cumorah is not in New York because because it doesn't exist; i.e., the Book of Mormon is pure fiction.*

The difference between these two groups is one of degree. Group A seeks to impeach Joseph, Oliver, David Whitmer, Lucy Mack Smith and others on the narrow issue of Cumorah being in New York. Group B also seeks to impeach Joseph, Oliver, etc. on the issue of Cumorah, but seeks to extend that impeachment to everything else they wrote about.

In my view, Group A is a precursor to Group B, meaning that if you accept Group A, it's much easier to also accept Group B.

This progression becomes clear in the following three syllogisms. The first one is the one I posted a few days ago to explain the Moroni's America point of view. The subsequent two show the similarities and differences between Group A and Group B.

Point of view that the Book of Mormon took place in North American (Moroni's America)

Premise 1:   If Joseph, Oliver, etc. are reliable and credible, then Cumorah is in New York.

Premise 2:   Joseph, Oliver, etc. are reliable and credible.

Conclusion:   Therefore, Cumorah is in New York.

Group A: Point of view that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica (or Baja, Panama, Peru, Chile, etc.)

Premise 1:   If Joseph, Oliver, etc. are reliable and credible, then Cumorah is in New York.

Premise 2:   Cumorah is not in New York.

Conclusion:   Therefore, Joseph, Oliver, etc. are not reliable and credible on this point.

Group B: Point of view that the Book of Mormon took place nowhere because it is fiction

Premise 1:   If Joseph, Oliver, etc. are reliable and credible, then Cumorah is in New York.

Premise 2:   Cumorah is not in New York.

Conclusion:   Therefore, Joseph, Oliver, etc. are not reliable and credible on anything.

You can see how, once someone successfully impeaches Joseph, Oliver, etc., on the issue of Cumorah, it becomes much easier to impeach them on other issues. This is particularly true when it is LDS scholars and educators themselves who are doing the impeaching. 

Imagine an LDS student who listens to his/her teachers insist Joseph and Oliver were wrong about Cumorah but right about everything else. 

Now imagine what it's like for an investigator to have the missionaries explain that Joseph and Oliver were wrong about Cumorah but right about everything else. It's bad enough for missionaries to have to explain why the Book of Mormon never mentions the jungles, leopards, and pyramids depicted in the artwork inside the copy the missionaries gave them, but imagine what investigators think when they learn that the missionaries themselves don't believe what Joseph and Oliver wrote about something as basic as Cumorah. 

I've had some LDS people tell me that students and investigators never ask about this because educators and missionaries don't emphasize it (or may not even realize this is what they're teaching when they refer to Central America or use Church-provided artwork). And I suppose that may be true. 

But it doesn't mean it's not a big issue.

Students and investigators know what the Internet is. They double-check what they're told. Anti-Mormon sites love to point out the discrepancy between what Joseph and Oliver (and other modern prophets and apostles) taught about the New York Hill Cumorah on one hand, and what LDS scholars and educators and missionaries teach on the other hand. 

If you're a student or investigator and you come across this obvious discrepancy, are you going to ask your teacher or missionaries about it? 

Probably not.

No one likes a confrontation. People like to be polite.

You'll choose to i) accept Joseph and Oliver and reject what your teachers and missionaries are telling you, ii) accept living with the cognitive dissonance it creates, or iii) veer toward Group B.

I hope everyone chooses option i), but realistically, we know a lot of people choose option ii). Sadly, option iii) seems to be the most popular choice.

Frequent readers of this blog know that this is exactly the problem that Joseph Fielding Smith warned would arise as a result of the two-Cumorahs theory. I won't revisit that now, but I hope LDS scholars, educators, students, missionaries and members generally will think more carefully about this serious issue. If you still believe Cumorah is not in New York, you need to come up with better reasons than anyone else has so far.

In the meantime, think of how powerful it would be if LDS scholars and educators would abandon their effort to impeach Joseph and Oliver. 

If they would simply accept the New York Cumorah, we would eliminate a major stumbling block for members and investigators. 

People could still choose to disbelieve Joseph and Oliver, but at least their disbelief wouldn't be a logical progression from what LDS scholars and educators are teaching.

Maybe at that point we could also clean up the misleading Book of Mormon art and eliminate the confusion readers get when they compare the text to the illustrations and wonder where all the jungles, pyramids, jaguars and Mayans are. 

:)   

As always, I welcome input and correction if I've misstated anyone's positions here.

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* There are some faithful LDS who believe the Book of Mormon is an inspired parable, which would make it fiction, but many of them accept Joseph as a prophet anyway. I can't follow their reasoning so I don't know how it would fit in this analysis, if at all.

Joseph Smith Papers - New 1842 material

Just a head's up for those interested in Church history. The Joseph Smith Papers recently released their collection of 1842 documents, here: http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers/documents/1842.

Several of these I hadn't seen before, and they are very important for those interested in the Book of Mormon geography question.

For years, Mesoamerican advocates have claimed Joseph Smith i) wrote the anonymous articles in the Times and Seasons that linked the Book of Mormon to Central America and ii) wrote a letter to Dr. John Bernhisel of New York that suggested Joseph read Stephens' books about Central America and approved of those books as evidence of the Book of Mormon.

I think both of those claims are false.

I explained my reasoning and the detailed historical evidence in my books The Lost City of Zarahemla, Brought to Light, and The Editors: Joseph, William, and Don Carlos Smith. For those not familiar with those books, they discuss the detailed historical evidence that supports my assertions that:

1. Everything Joseph Smith taught about Book of Mormon geography related to a North American setting.

2. Joseph never connected Central America to the Book of Mormon.

3. Everything that links the Book of Mormon to Central America cannot be linked directly to Joseph Smith.

These new 1842 documents support the positions I took in those books.

I blogged about the detail here:

http://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2016/11/1842-bernhisel-letters-released-by-jsp.html

and here:

http://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2016/11/1842-benjamin-winchester-letter.html
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I don't know how many people still believe the Mesoamerican theory that is being promoted by Book of Mormon Central and a handful of scholars. I expect the number to continue to dwindle, for many reasons.

It's fascinating to watch as the Mesoamerican theory just keeps disintegrating before our eyes.