Book of Mormon Geography Theories
Recently my brother pointed me to an interview online with a researcher
named Rod Meldrum about DNA and the Book of Mormon. The scholar suggests in the interview that
while the DNA research that has been done largely suggests that the indigenous
populations of the Americas came from Asia, a certain subset of American Indians
apparently shows very similar DNA to people in the Middle East and to Jews
across the world. This seems to support
the theory that the Book of Mormon took place in what is now the United States,
as he claims in the book Exploring
the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland. I haven’t read the book, but reading the reviews
from people who have shows that this topic about Book of Mormon geography is
very divisive among believers: only ratings of 1 (lowest) and 4s and 5s (the
highest) with nothing else in between are currently there. It would appear that either people love the
book and subscribe to the theory wholeheartedly or else they have nothing but very
negative things to say about it. The
opposing theory is that of a Central American geography as put forth originally
by John Sorenson, and the latest support for this theory was recently
highlighted in a documentary called Journey
of Faith: The New World that I have watched. The small number of reviews on Amazon show again
that this is a very divisive topic: only 5 star (the highest) and 1 star (the
lowest) ratings were given with nothing in between. And the only negative review pointed back to
the Heartland book mentioned above. The
negative reviews on both sides of the coin seem to take a fairly cynical view
towards the other side.
I
certainly don’t know where the Book of Mormon took place and I find myself
skeptical that either side of the argument really has it all correct because of
the divisiveness of the issue. I have to
trust that the research done on all sides was by people who love and honor the
Book of Mormon and want to build faith in its truthfulness. So it makes me uncomfortable that such heated
arguments about the geography exist among people who believe the book’s
teachings about unity and love: “Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up
the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine,
that such things should be done away” (3 Nephi 11:30). If the Lord entered the conversation perhaps
he might start with this question: “Why is it that the people should murmur and
dispute because of this thing?” (3 Nephi 27:4) Surely there is truth to be found in both
theories. Perhaps the Book of Mormon did
take place in Central America but then a large migration in the years between
400-1400 A.D. made it so they traveled to where the American Indians then were
found. Or perhaps it is such that in the
time between Moroni and the discovering of America the peoples on these two
continents became so mixed that Lehi and Mulek’s descendants were scattered
across the whole of the land, something that might give evidence to both
theories. I certainly don’t know and would
guess that we will all be a little surprised when we the Lord reveals to us all
things in the Millennium, but I would hope that whatever theories about Book of
Mormon geography that we subscribe to we will not get distracted from whole purpose
of the book itself: “The convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is
the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Title
Page).
Years ago, as a child, I used to come in from the outside after playing in the snow and ice, and I'd think, how did the American Indians manage to survive in such weather? We had nice, warm homes to retreat in and never had to worry about it.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to 2018. I joined the church in 1971 and read the Book of Mormon. Nowhere within its pages did the ancient Nephites ever encounter snow or ice. Nowhere were battles decided by the Lord sending snow or ice storms to cut off the Lamanites from their murderous intentions. In fact, there was no snow. No ice.
Looking at early church history, we do see snow and ice. Lots of it. Parley Pratt talks of trudging through treacherous snow storms with only frozen bread to suck on for nourishment. And on at least one occasion, the Lord sent a snow and ice storm to cut off the mobs bent on the saints' destruction! (At first, they thought it was just another affliction to worsen their lives, but the prophet told them otherwise.) During the Revolutionary War, we have numerous accounts of winter storms, not the least of which was Gen. Washington's description of the snow and ice of Valley Forge, and in World War I and II, numerous winter storms that sometimes caused more casualties and deaths than the battles themselves. The famous Battle of the Bulge was a notable example. Men forced to sleep pressed in against each other to survive.
No such stories exist in the Book of Mormon. Clearly, they existed in a place without snow or ice. Years come and go, yet there are no snow storms, or ice storms. We do know that the narrow neck of land was so full of poisonous serpents that men could not traverse it for years, yet I know of no poisonous serpents who can weather snow and ice and afflict the children of men.
I don't know where the Book of Mormon events took place, but I do know there's only one place in the Americas where there is no snow or ice, and it's in Mesoamerica. No one has ever explained how the Heartlands theory would explain a lack of winter storms, for climate has only grown warmer since those days. But no one will go to hell for not believing in the right place. Only for in rejecting the book.
Only time will tell. It's when people become so set in their ways that reason cannot prevail that scholarship will not prevail. Salvation is not dependent on what people believe in where the book took place. Yet it's good that all men keep an open mind. What bothers me most about the Heartlands model is that people bear their testimonies in where the BofM events took place. And that's the danger.
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective. I hadn't thought about the snow and ice before--cold weather and hot weather are in fact both conspicuously absent from descriptions in the Book of Mormon. Most important though, as you say, is a testimony that the book itself is indeed the word of God.
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