Two choices and their simple maps

Readers of this blog know that I support having multiple working hypotheses available, at least when articulated pursuant to the FAITH model that separates Facts from Assumptions, Inferences, and Theories that lead to the various Hypotheses about the setting of the Book of Mormon.

In my view, every Latter-day Saint should be aware that there are two general hypotheses about the setting of the Book of Mormon. Both hypotheses are supported by the text and extrinsic evidence. They differ primarily in the starting point. The two hypotheses are separated by whether the proponents accept or reject the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah.

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There are two separate aspects of the setting of the Book of Mormon that some people conflate for various reasons.

What is known.

We can all read the historical record. Oliver Cowdery, as Assistant President of the Church, formally published the first history of the Church, including his declaration that it is a fact that the hill Cumorah/Ramah of the Book of Mormon is the same hill near Palmyra, New York, where Moroni built the stone box for the plates. That statement was corroborated by several other contemporaries of Joseph Smith, and by Joseph himself in D&C 128:20, as well as his successors in Church leadership.

The New York Cumorah is corroborated by extrinsic evidence of archaeology, anthropology, geology, geography, etc.

What is not known.

Other than Cumorah,  details of the setting of the Book of Mormon remain unknown. Historical accounts refer to potential sites (Manti, plains of the Nephites, etc.) and D&C 125 references Zarahemla, but these lack the authoritative declarations that we have about Cumorah. 

These details are complicated by (i) the vague distance and directional information in the text, (ii) the existence of innumerable potential sites (depending on one's interpretation of the text) and (iii) the destruction (both man-made and natural) of many more potential sites, including land deformations. 

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The oft-cited entry on Book of Mormon Geography wisely avoids mentioning Cumorah because 

(i) so many Latter-day Saints have been taught and trained to reject the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah and 

(ii) even some people who still accept the teachings of the prophets have become adamant about their own particular interpretations.

Obviously I have a hypothesis, which I set out in my book Moroni's America. But as I explained in that book, this is merely a hypothesis based on the few known facts and the assumptions and inferences that make sense to me. 

The simple map is easy for anyone to understand.

For me, as for many others who grew up attending seminary and institute, this was a major paradigm shift from what we were taught by the experts (so-called). 

They persuaded me of a map similar to the one below.

Ideally, every Latter-day Saint should be aware of at least these two distinct hypotheses.

What do you think?

 

The copycats: M2C, B2C, SITH

L.E. Hills' 1917 map

Jasmine's M2C rationizations

Coming right after Moroni Day, and in the pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding, we continue to comment on social media influencers when people ask us about them. We assume everyone is acting in good faith, and we want to understand one another without any need to convince or persuade anyone of anything.

But clarity seems to be the big stumbling block for many influencers, especially those who don't seek to enable their audience to make informed decisions. 

Such as the ironically named podcast "Informed Saints."

Jasmine and the other so-called "Informed Saints," who are all wonderful Latter-day Saints and great people, continue to promote M2C with the same old arguments made by their predecessors and mentors, starting with RLDS scholar L.E. Hills over 100 years ago. See, e.g., https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2021/04/the-greatest-student-is.html

Hills published the first map showing the Hill Cumorah in southern Mexico. He and his collaborator Stebbins decided that Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith and their contemporaries were merely speculating when they explicitly taught it was a fact that the Hill Cumorah/Ramah is the same hill where Joseph found the plates; i.e., western New York near Palmyra.

The Church recently rededicated the site as the Hill Cumorah.

But like Stebbins and Hills, Jasmine and the other "Informed Saints" continue to influence Latter-day Saints to repudiate the historical record in favor of their own interpretations of the text and the related extrinsic evidence.

Here is an example.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1386433376646974

Why Mesoamerica Is the Most Likely Location for the Book of Mormon

Speaker: Jasmin Rappleye

Posted: 4 June 2026

Duration: about 1 minute 48 seconds

Source: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1386433376646974

Also posted on YouTube Shorts as “Why Mesoamerica Is the MOST Likely Location for the Book of Mormon. According to me.”

Spoken text / caption

Original in blue, my comments in red.

This is my very brief crash course on why I think the Book of Mormon most likely took place in Mesoamerica.

This is not doctrine. This is just my opinion. But here it is.

First, what the text of the Book of Mormon says about its geography—the distances, the geological features, the relationships between cities—fits far, far better in Mesoamerica than any other proposed model.

Everyone who reads the Book of Mormon knows that the geography passages are vague and subject to multiple interpretations. That's why there are such diverse ideas about the setting. 

And that's why it is so important to recognize the one fact--the one unambiguous pin in the map--provided by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and their associates; i.e., the Hill Cumorah/Ramah is in New York.

But rather than work to corroborate what they explicitly taught, Jasmine and the "Informed Saints" work to repudiate what they explicitly taught. They work continuously to undermine faith in the plain and simple teachings that we've all inherited as Latter-day Saints.

In Baja, the distances are too small; in the Heartland, they’re really large; but Mesoamerica is just right.

Goldilocks is a good metaphor for how the M2Cers (and B2Cers) approach this topic because both M2C and B2C are merely tales based on the imagination of the proponents, who strive to convert their assumptions, inferences and theories into facts. 

Others prefer to start with the known Facts and separate them from their assumptions, inferences and theories. That's why we have the FAITH model. 

I think you can more logically and methodically place pins on the map for Book of Mormon sites in Mesoamerica, but with the other models, you more often have to stretch or outright contradict the text of the Book of Mormon to make it work.

As hard as they've tried for decades to reach "consensus," M2Cers don't even agree among themselves about the geography. This is the delusion of "relying on the text" as we've discussed before. 

https://www.lettervii.com/2026/09/delusion-of-forming-opinions-based-on.html

By rejecting the plain teachings about Cumorah, the M2Cers and B2Cers are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) They are never going to find Cumorah/Ramah in Baja or Mesoamerica, not matter how hard they try.

Second, the archaeology in Mesoamerica supports the kind of civilization the Book of Mormon talks about from 600 BC to 400 AD—large cities, fortifications, armies, social stratification, large battles, government.

The M2C interpretation of the text is driven by the archaeology of Mesoamerica, not vice versa. 

The available scholarship agrees that other models severely lack in this area.

The "available scholarship" outside of the M2C bubble thinks M2C is absurd. 

Third, understanding the Preclassic Maya cultural background of the Book of Mormon actually helps me understand the doctrine of the Book of Mormon better.

This is a persistent logical fallacy, based on cherry picking anecdotal information from Mayan culture that is common to most human civilizations, and then retroactively applying that to the Book of Mormon, all the while ignoring the elephant in the room: the complete absence of any Christian (or Hebrew) evidence from that same culture. Just look at these examples. 

Understanding Maya kingship rituals helps me understand the blood of Christ’s atonement discussed in King Benjamin’s speech. Other examples include execution practices that illuminate Abinadi’s testimony, and a Mayan pun in the story of Korihor that strengthens the theme of testimony in Christ. No other geography model offers the same explanatory value for the text.

Nevertheless, we can all agree with Jasmine that everyone is welcome to their own opinions. 

But not everyone agrees with Jasmine that everyone is welcome to their own facts. 

Which is why Jasmine and the other "Informed Saints" do everything possible to avoid informing their audience about the New York Cumorah/Ramah and the extrinsic evidence that corroborates the explicit, clear and uncontroverted teachings of the prophets about Cumorah.

So while everyone is welcome to their own opinions, and the Church does not take a position on geography, this is why I have come to the conclusion that Mesoamerica is the most likely location for the primary events of the Book of Mormon.

We always encourage people to watch how the B2Cers and M2Cers try to persuade Latter-day Saints to disbelieve Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

To learn more about the compelling reasons to take this model seriously, watch this episode of Informed Saints

Jour de Moroni - September 21

editorial modification of well-known
painting by Tom Lovell

Yesterday we did another fireside (in French) and I mentioned that September 21 is "Jour de Moroni" or "Moroni Day."

Latter-day Saints around the world recognize that September 21 is the day Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith, as described first in Oliver Cowdery's Letter IV and six years later in Joseph Smith - History. 

We celebrate this date because it ushered in the Restoration. As Joseph wrote later, 

And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed.

(Doctrine and Covenants 128:20)

I suggested on another blog that people celebrate Moroni Day by reading the earliest and most detailed description of Moroni's first visit, which is in the Joseph Smith Papers here:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/64

Here are two simple suggestions for Moroni Day that I would like the M2Cers and B2Cers to consider, based on unambiguous and authentic historical sources.

- Recognize and teach that it was Moroni who first identified the hill in New York as "Cumorah."

- Recognize and teach that it was not Moroni who met David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith on the road to Fayette, nor was it Moroni who showed plates to Mary Whitmer.

Naturally, the M2Cers and B2Cers will say the historical sources were merely speculation and were wrong. And that's fine. They can believe and teach whatever they want. But they should at least teach their followers actual history instead of pretending these sources don't exist.

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Maybe if all Latter-day Saints around the world (and especially at BYU) honored Moroni and his legacy by teaching the full history we would be closer to the promised day when the Lord will reveal the rest of the plates.

Moroni Day 2026

Every September, Latter-day Saints around the world focus momentarily on Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith. 

This means people will be wondering, yet again, why the hill in New York is called the Hill Cumorah.

Well-informed Latter-day Saints know the reason: Moroni himself identified the hill as Cumorah the first time he visited Joseph Smith. 

But because some LDS scholars and their followers choose to believe (and teach) that the "real Cumorah" is somewhere else (Mesoamerica, Baja, Peru, etc.). Because these M2C and B2C influencers have considerable control over what Latter-day Saints know, the historical sources about Cumorah are not well know. 

A good example of this is a recent podcast by Scripture Central commemorating Moroni Day, which I discussed here:

https://scripturecentralpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2026/09/moroni-day-podcast-good-and-not-so-good.html

Despite the problems with that podcast, Scripture Central is much improved lately, having adopted a relatively neutral position on the setting of the Book of Mormon.

By contrast, to the extent they mention Cumorah at all, the M2Cers and B2Cers will do all they can in their podcasts, blogs, articles, etc. to lead Latter-day Saints to mistrust and reject the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah. 

But the rest of us can celebrate Moroni Day 2026 by reading and sharing all the historical sources with no problems. Here are some useful links:

https://www.mobom.org/cumorah-overview

https://www.mobom.org/cumorah-in-general-conference

On my LetterVII blog, I suggested people could celebrate by reading and sharing Letter IV.

https://www.lettervii.com/2026/09/moroni-day-2026-how-to-celebrate.html

BTW, if you're a day late celebrating Moroni Day, you're probably okay. We recognize September 21st as the date, but Joseph himself said it was likely after midnight, so on the 22nd.

:)

25 minute lessons

For all the conversation about the 25-minute lessons, it seems things went smoothly in most wards and branches. 

In our branch, everything worked great.

However, teachers and learners have adjustments to make. 

Because I've been a teacher and learner in a variety of settings inside and outside the Church and all around the world, I put together a short book that I hope some will find useful.

It's called 25-MINUTE GOSPEL CLASSES: SIMPLE PLANS TO TEACH, LEARN, AND CHANGE LIVES

Years ago I was influenced by Boyd K. Packer's book Teach Ye Diligently and I've included several relevant quotations from that book.

Right now, it's only available in Kindle (English and French). The printed version will be released in October. On the Kindle, you can download a sample and see what you think.

:)

https://www.amazon.com/25-MINUTE-GOSPEL-CLASSES-SIMPLE-CHANGE-ebook/dp/B0HFCCT4B5

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ31WHCP

D-Day and no more contention

We're living in Normandy, France, about 10 km from Utah Beach. Utah Beach was the westernmost of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion of World War II.

Across the street from us is the Hotel de Ville, decorated with lots of flags.

There are flags from France, Canada, the USA, the UK, the EU, and even Germany. One of the restaurants down the street has a sign on the window that reads "Deutsch gesprochen" (German spoken).

Even in September, our village is crowded with tourists from all over the world, including many Germans. It's wonderful to enjoy the peace here among nations that fought viciously during World War II.

Fighting wars to produce peace is how King Benjamin achieved "no more contention" as explained in the verses leading up to Mosiah 1:1.

I mention this because so many good things are happening in the world today.

Even among people who disagree about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon, there is lots of potential for "no more contention." 

All we have to do is agree to use the FAITH model of analysis.

:)

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