Author: Jonathan Neville

Because I write this blog about Book of Mormon geography, some critics claim I’m a “one-key” guy. But this blog is just a first step.

A well-known General Authority recently asked me, “Why do you care about all this stuff?”

I replied that I love missionary and activation work and can do it full-time now that I’m retired, but investigators always ask whether the Book of Mormon is a real history. Always.

Missionaries are instructed to tell investigators that it is a real history, “but we don’t know where these events took place.” That stock answer is absurd from the perspective of an investigator. Joseph and Oliver realized this when they wrote and promulgated Letter VII.

Sadly, most missionaries have been conditioned from a young age to believe in M2C*. Many of them relate that to their investigators, supported by the M2C illustrations in the current missionary edition of the Book of Mormon itself.

In two minutes of the inevitable Internet research, investigators learn that M2C not only has been rejected by every non-LDS Mesoamerican scholar but, more importantly, M2C constitutes a repudiation of the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah. Investigators around the world think to themselves, “If these missionaries don’t believe their own prophets, why should I?” This is one reason why we see declining rates of baptism around the world, except where people can’t read English or don’t have access to the Internet.

Plus, because of M2C, missionaries have no answer for the DNA issue (apart from the confusing, unpersuasive Gospel Topics essay that not only doesn’t reference the scriptures but essentially teaches that the scriptures are not reliable).

Consequently, missionaries are left with only this response: tell investigators to pray about it. Fortunately, some investigators do that–the Spirit does testify of the truth–but most people don’t see any point in praying about a book that even the missionaries can’t distinguish from fiction.

In my view, M2C is not only an unnecessary but an inexcusable obstacle for investigators (and Church members) to overcome. Accepting the teachings of the prophets would eliminate this obstacle. That’s why I tap the Cumorah key.
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Long ago (1971) Elder Boyd K. Packer gave a conference address titled “The True and Living Church.”

He said, “The gospel might be likened to the keyboard of a piano—a full keyboard with a selection of keys on which one who is trained can play a variety without limits; a ballad to express love, a march to rally, a melody to soothe, and a hymn to inspire; an endless variety to suit every mood and satisfy every need.

How shortsighted it is, then, to choose a single key and endlessly tap out the monotony of a single note, or even two or three notes, when the full keyboard of limitless harmony can be played.”

He explained that some Christian churches focus on one key, such as faith-healing or mode of baptism, and thereby miss the fullness of the gospel.

He also warned Church members against gospel hobbies.

Some members of the Church who should know better pick out a hobby key or two and tap them incessantly, to the irritation of those around them. They can dull their own spiritual sensitivities. They lose track that there is a fullness of the gospel and become as individuals, like many churches have become. They may reject the fullness in preference to a favorite note. This becomes exaggerated and distorted, leading them away into apostasy.

I hope no readers of this blog are “one-note” gospel hobbyists. We all realize that Book of Mormon geography is a minor key compared with the important doctrines in the book.

However, Book of Mormon geography has become an important key because it involves a choice between following the prophets vs. following the M2C intellectuals. 

As I’ve repeated many times, I admire and respect the M2C intellectuals for the good work they do on all sorts of gospel topics. However, I also think their repudiation of the prophets regarding the New York Cumorah pollutes the rest of their work and leads their followers to question the prophets about other teachings.

I realize there are plenty of faithful members of the Church who think M2C strengthens their testimony. They believe the “evidence” supports M2C. But we have to also recognize the reality that confirmation bias distorts our interpretation of evidence.

M2C supports the testimony of people who want to believe M2C. Confirmation bias causes them to suppress the cognitive dissonance they experience once they learn what the prophets have taught about the New York Cumorah.

But for people who don’t already want to believe M2C (i.e., everyone on the planet except a handful of M2C intellectuals and their followers), the “evidence” for M2C is completely unpersuasive.

Worse, it’s an obstacle to giving the Book of Mormon a chance. It’s an obstacle to accepting the gospel.

As I told that General Authority, that’s why I care about all this stuff.
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In a sense, all active members of the Church do have a gospel hobby. And it’s one key.

The keystone of our religion.

The prophets have consistently and persistently taught Church members to read the Book of Mormon regularly. President Nelson encouraged the sisters in the Church to do so before the end of 2018.

President Nelson also asked us to think about what our lives would be like without the Book of Mormon.

In 1986, President Ezra Taft Benson explained how the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. He declared, “Finally, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony. Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The enemies of the Church understand this clearly. This is why they go to such great lengths to try to disprove the Book of Mormon, for if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it.”

Enemies of the Church have several techniques for trying to disprove the Book of Mormon, but none of those enemies have a tool more powerful than M2C.

There are three elements of M2C that give it such power.

1. It comes from within the Church; i.e., it is promoted by faithful LDS intellectuals and promulgated throughout Church media, manuals, etc.

2. It repudiates the teachings of the prophets, thereby undermining faith not only in the Book of Mormon but in the reliability and credibility of the prophets overall.

3. It leads directly to the conclusion that the Book of Mormon is fiction, as hundreds of thousands of young Latter-day Saints are being taught through CES and BYU, which are using fantasy maps to teach the Book of Mormon (see below).

The worst thing we can do is teach the youth of the Church that the best way to understand the Book of Mormon is by referring to fantasy maps that look like they came out of The Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia.

For all these reasons, I’ll keep tapping on the keystone of our religion, not to change the minds of the M2C intellectuals and their followers (confirmation bias is too strong), but to give investigators, less active members, and especially the youth in the Church an opportunity to see that the teachings of the prophets are correct, after all.

BYU fantasy map

CES fantasy map

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*M2C is the acronym for the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory. M2C intellectuals and their followers teach that Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and every other prophet and apostle who has ever addressed the topic were wrong when they taught that the hill Cumorah is in New York. They claim the “real” hill Cumorah is in southern Mexico and that the prophets were wrong because they were ignorant speculators who misled the Church with their private opinions.

M2C intellectuals developed an interpretation of the text of the Book of Mormon that supports their repudiation of the prophets, as depicted in the fantasy maps shown here. This M2C interpretation has been imprinted on the minds of Church members from their youth.

But the text can also be interpreted in a way that supports and corroborates the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah. I suggested one such interpretation in my book, Moroni’s America. You can read about it on my blog, here:
http://moronisamerica.com/

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of proposed geography models for the Book of Mormon. For me, there are only two categories: those that show Cumorah in New York, and those that show Cumorah somewhere else.

The prophets have consistently and persistently taught two things:

1. Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is in New York.
2. We don’t know for sure where the other events took place.

Based on their teachings, I consider any model that puts Cumorah somewhere other than in western New York invalid. This is not only a matter of following the prophets, but also of following the evidence. It is well known among archaeologists and anthropologists that the Hopewell Indians living in Ohio around 300 A.D. migrated to western New York and vanished around 400 A.D. That corroborates what the prophets have taught. There is plenty of evidence to support the teachings of the prophets, but evidence is beside the point. In my view, we follow the prophets first and consider evidence second.

A good analogy for M2C ideology is the NPC.

If you don’t know what an NPC is, the Dilbert cartoon below explains it.

NOTE: The cartoon has been slightly modified (7th panel) to explain how BOMCC makes hiring decisions.

Staff Hires at BOMCC

Yesterday, we met the NPCs at BOMCC, aka the censors.

https://bookofmormoncentral.org/directory

They all give these NPC responses to the following questions. If you know any of them, ask, and you will see for yourself.

BYU/CES/NPC fantasy map that teaches the prophets are wrong

Q1: Where did the Book of Mormon take place?

NPC Answer: Mesoamerica (or Fantasyland, if they use the BYU/CES fantasy maps).

Q2: Where is the hill Cumorah?

NPC Answer: Somewhere in Southern Mexico.

Q3: Haven’t the prophets consistently taught that Cumorah is in New York?

NPC Answer: You’re not supposed to know that.

Q4: I repeat, haven’t the prophets consistently taught that Cumorah is in New York?

NPC Answer: Yes, but they were merely expressing their opinions, and they were wrong because our scholars have said so. The prophets don’t have PhDs in Mesoamerican/Mayan studies.

Q5: Do you believe the scholars instead of the prophets?

NPC Answer: Of course. Don’t you?
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As always, I emphasize that on a personal level I really like everyone who is affiliated with Book of Mormon Central Censor. On a professional level I respect their work, and I recognize that they do a lot of good in many ways.

But I can’t ignore the destructive impact of their ongoing repudiation of the consistent, persistent teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah. 

One of my greatest hopes for 2019 is to see the M2C* citation cartel change course.

The citation cartel includes Book of Mormon Central Censor (BOMCC), BYU Studies, Fairly Mormon (aka FairMormon), the Interpreter, Meridian Magazine, etc., and everyone who writes for and promotes these publications.

I want them to cease their inexcusable censorship of the teachings of the prophets, the work of those who still believe the prophets, and the abundant evidence that supports the teachings of the prophets.
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The ringleader of the M2C citation cartel is Book of Mormon Central Censor (BOMCC). It is the intellectual progeny of FARMS, which adopted M2C from RLDS scholars and polished it up to make it acceptable to hundreds of thousands of LDS students through CES and BYU.

George Orwell’s 1984 established the editorial policy used by Book of Mormon Central Censor

I keep hearing that some people object to my term “Book of Mormon Central Censor.” They think it is divisive or contentious. Their objection strikes me as bizarre. Since when do people knowingly and enthusiastically support censorship?

Everyone affiliated with BOMCC–employees, donors, volunteers, advisers–embraces the policy and practice of censorship.

Church members who read BOMCC material wonder, why does BOMCC censor these things?

Like all censors, BOMCC claims to be protecting their readers, but like all censors, they are merely protecting themselves–and their M2C ideology.

The people who run (and donate to) BOMCC know that most members of the Church prefer to believe the prophets instead of the scholars.

M2C contradicts the teachings of the prophets, so BOMCC doesn’t want Church members to realize this.

Their only recourse, really, is censorship. M2C can only survive when members of the Church are ignorant of the teachings of the prophets and of the evidence that supports the prophets.

I don’t mind that the people at BOMCC disagree with the prophets–everyone can believe whatever they want–but because they hold themselves out as informed experts, they ought to at least allow their readers to make informed choices.

So far, they refuse to.

Maybe that will change in 2019. We can all hope so.
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Everyone affiliated with Book of Mormon Central Censor is a wonderful person, trying to do what they think is right.

Unfortunately, everyone affiliated with Book of Mormon Central Censor also must accept and promote M2C and therefore approves of censorship. Otherwise they wouldn’t be affiliated with BOMCC.

You can meet the censors here:

https://bookofmormoncentral.org/directory

I repeat that on a personal level I really like everyone in the M2C citation cartel. None of my objections are personal in any way.

This is a disagreement about whether we as members of the Church should believe the prophets or the scholars.

M2C is a clear choice to believe the intellectuals instead of the prophets.

On a professional level I respect most of the work of the members of the M2C citation cartel, and I recognize that they do a lot of good in many ways.

But I can’t ignore the destructive impact of their ongoing censorship that is designed and intended solely to protect and promote M2C, which represents a direct repudiation of the consistent, persistent teachings of the prophets. 
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*M2C is the acronym for the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory that teaches the “real” Cumorah is in southern Mexico, while the hill in New York was named Cumorah by unknown early Church members who were misled by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who were ignorant speculators.

For my first post in 2019, I’m showing another instance of M2C* censorship. This one is from the Brigham Young lesson manual (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church – Brigham Young).

This is part of a well-established pattern of censorship by Church employees who follow the M2C intellectuals. Although these materials are approved by Church leaders, the materials are prepared by staff who are trusted to be accurate and truthful when they write these manuals.

I don’t believe any Church leaders would knowingly approve of the deliberate censorship of teachings of the prophets who preceded them, especially when the censorship is driven by the desire to promote M2C. 

Look at the comparison below to see how the employees who wrote this manual changed Brigham Young’s clear teachings to accommodate M2C. The blue in the right column is the original. The red in the left column is the work of the censors.

Lesson manual

Original talk in Journal of Discourses

When Joseph first received the knowledge of the plates that were in the hill Cumorah, he did not then receive the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, he merely received the knowledge that the plates were there, and that the Lord would bring them forth. … He received the knowledge that [early inhabitants of the Americas] were once in possession of the Gospel, and from that time he went on, step by step, until he obtained the plates, and the Urim and Thummim and had power to translate them.

When Joseph first received the knowledge of the plates that were in the hill Cumorah, he did not then receive the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, he merely received the knowledge that the plates were there, and that the Lord would bring them forth, and that they contained the history of the aborigines of this country. He received the knowledge that they were once in possession of the Gospel, and from that time he went on, step by step, until he obtained the plates, and the Urim and Thummim and had power to translate them.

Notice: the original phrase “aborigines of this country” was censored and replaced with “early inhabitants of the Americas.”

The revisionist historians in the Church History Department have adopted the term “Americas” to replace the original language (this country) wherever they can, such as in the commentary in the Joseph Smith Papers. If you search the Joseph Smith Papers website, you’ll see that the term “Americas” appears only in the commentary, not in any of the original sources.

The reason is that M2C intellectuals and their followers (including teachers at BYU and CES) teach that the hill Cumorah is in southern Mexico. They teach that the prophets are wrong about Cumorah in New York.

Censoring the teachings of the prophets is essential for the success of M2C.

Censorship is bad enough, but in cases such as this Brigham Young manual, the M2C employees go so far as to change the teachings of the prophets. 

I think this is a breach of trust because future generations who rely on these doctored manuals will never know what the prophets have actually taught.
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Where did Brigham Young learn that Joseph received the knowledge that the plates contained the history of the aboriginal inhabitants of this country?

Obviously, he could have heard it directly from Joseph Smith.

Perhaps he read and believed the Wentworth letter, in which Joseph wrote this:

I was informed also concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, and shown who they were…

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/church-history-1-march-1842/2

The same sentence was contained in a follow-up article, published in 1844.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/latter-day-saints-1844/2

Or perhaps Brigham Young also read and believed Letter VII, which explains that on his first visit to Joseph Smith, Moroni

then proceeded and gave a general account of the promises made to the fathers, and also gave a history of the aborigenes of this country, and said they were literal descendants of Abraham. 

Letter VII was first published in 1835 and republished in most Church periodicals during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. You can read it in Joseph’s personal journal here:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/68

M2C intellectuals and their followers reject Letter VII, the Wentworth letter, and every other source that affirms the New York Cumorah and teaches that the Lamanites were the ancestors of the aboriginal inhabitants of the United States, circa 1835-1842.

The M2C intellectuals and their followers teach that Joseph didn’t know much about the Book of Mormon. They claim he was an ignorant speculator who misled the Church, because they, the M2C intellectuals, have the training and expertise to know that Cumorah is actually in southern Mexico and that the events in the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica.

French

Thanks to successful censorship and revisionism designed to accommodate M2C, most Church members today have no idea what the prophets have actually taught.

These misleading manuals have been translated into dozens of languages. Consequently, not only future generations but members of the Church who can’t read English will never know what the prophets have actually taught.

Instead, they have to accept the work of the M2C intellectuals and revisionist Church historians.

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Spanish

Fortunately, original sources are available on the Internet, although most are not translated outside of English.

Here is the link to the manual:

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-brigham-young/chapter-47?lang=eng

Here is the link to the Journal of Discourses:

http://jod.mrm.org/18/235

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*M2C is the acronym for the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory, which teaches that the prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah because the “real” hill Cumorah is in southern Mexico. 

I wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the readers of these blogs. 2018 was awesome, and 2019 will be even better.

In January, I’m going to unseal an indictment of M2C. It’s a detailed and specific analysis of M2C, its history and development, the illusory nature of the “science” and “correspondences” cited by M2C, the rhetorical techniques used by the M2C intellectuals and their followers, and the impact of M2C on members and investigators of the Church.

Most followers of M2C are unaware of all of this.

Actually, most people who believe M2C are unaware of the teachings of the prophets. They don’t know about the evidence from Church history and the sciences that support and corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

Even if the indictment does not resolve the issue of the location of the Hill Cumorah, at least it will help Church members and investigators make informed decisions about what to believe.

M2C is packaged as a common scam. That doesn’t mean it is a scam, but it raises the question of why it is packaged as a scam. Promoters use censorship, misdirection, and sophistry to obscure their basic belief that the prophets are wrong and to confuse members of the Church. The promoters of M2C refuse to share a room with the critics of M2C. They refuse side-by-side comparisons. The indictment will make all of this clear for everyone to see.
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I planned to take a break from blogging over the holidays, but our M2C advocates and their followers continue to find new ways to persuade members of the Church to reject the teachings of the prophets.

Enough people have asked about the latest developments that I’ve agreed to respond.
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Last week Book of Mormon Central Censor published No-wise #493, titled “Why Should Latter-day Saints Beware Fraudulent Artifacts?” It’s a good title, and it contains some good points, but overall the no-wise itself is deliberately misleading, as I discuss here:

http://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2018/12/no-wise-493-artifacts.html
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You’ll notice in No-wise #493 that Book of Mormon Central Censor cites quotations from President M. Russell Ballard in such as way as to imply President Ballard endorses their views, including their repudiation of the teachings of the prophets.

Does anyone believe that President Ballard intended to communicate that message?

Look at what he actually said and decide for yourself.

The article is from the December 2016 Ensign titled “By Study and By Faith,” which you can read here:
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/12/by-study-and-by-faith?lang=eng

Notice that President Ballard cited the example of President Marion G. Romney.

Book of Mormon Central Censor teaches its readers and followers that President Romney taught false doctrine in General Conference. Compare President Romney’s General Conference address with M2C and you’ll see this for yourself.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1975/10/americas-destiny?lang=eng

Does anyone think President Ballard intended to repudiate the teachings of President Romney?

I certainly do not. It’s inconceivable to me to think that President Ballard would be teaching the Saints to disbelieve what President Romney taught.

Yet this is what Book of Mormon Central Censor wants you to believe President Ballard is doing.
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President Ballard gave an address at BYU a year later (Nov 2017) to further clarify the issue. You can read it here:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard_questions-and-answers/

In the BYU address, he said

Let’s ask, what questions require an expert?

Does it require an expert to read and understand Letter VII? To read and understand the consistent and persistent teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah?

Of course not.

Joseph and Oliver wrote Letter VII, and Joseph had it republished multiple times, precisely because it was so clear and easy to understand.

Here’s what does require an expert: trying to persuade faithful members of the Church to disbelieve the prophets.

The M2C intellectuals and their followers have resorted to sophisticated sophistry to confuse and mislead members of the Church.

I don’t think President Ballard wants us to consult experts who are trying to persuade us to disbelieve the prophets. Instead, those are the types of experts he warns us against.

His remarks surely are aimed at specialized topics that require advanced knowledge and experience to address.

I realize the M2C intellectuals claim they have been hired by the prophets to guide the Church, and they cite President Ballard’s remarks to justify their position, but I think we’re a long ways from needing experts to understand the plain, consistent teachings of the prophets, whether it’s about the New York Cumorah or any other topic.
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Notice another comment President Ballard made. I hope everyone interested in Book of Mormon historicity and geography considers this carefully. We don’t help the Brethren build up the Church, teach the doctrine of Christ, and help those in need when we start by telling people the prophets are wrong.

BOMCC at work

Book of Mormon Central Censor published No-wise #493, a delightful example of censorship and misdirection designed to accomplish these two objectives:

1. Fulfill the corporate mission of Book of Mormon Central Censor to “increase understanding of the Book of Mormon as an ancient Mesoamerican codex;” and

2. Frame Joseph Smith as an ignorant speculator who misled the Church, thereby keeping readers of BOMCC ignorant and confused so they cannot make informed decisions about choosing between the prophets and the scholars.
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First, some context.

The existence of ancient Hebrews in North America is not an LDS/non-LDS issue. There are plenty of people, both LDS and non-LDS, who believe, based on the evidence, that ancient Hebrews lived in North America. There are plenty of people, LDS and non-LDS, who believe an ancient civilization migrated from Ohio to western New York and vanished around 400 A.D. The evidence they rely on happens to also corroborate the teachings of LDS prophets.

Of course, there are also people, both LDS and non-LDS, who reject the evidence. Evidence is not the same as proof. Proof is whatever convinces someone, and everyone has different biases they seek to confirm, which affects the threshold of evidence they require to “prove” or “disprove” a proposition.

That said, there’s a big difference when it comes to M2C.

M2C is purely an LDS (and Community of Christ) concept, developed and promoted by a handful of intellectuals over the objection of LDS prophets. There are no non-LDS who believe there were ancient Hebrews in Mesoamerica. Plus, M2C repudiates the teachings of the LDS prophets.

Book of Mormon Central Censor pretends to rely on science and evidence, but their arguments are completely unpersuasive to their academic peers, and they never tell their followers how isolated their beliefs are; i.e., they don’t tell their followers that no non-LDS people believe there were ancient Hebrews in Mesoamerica. 

IOW, the evidence for Hebrews in North American is accepted by both LDS and non-LDS people, but the evidence for Hebrews in Mesoamerica is accepted only by a few LDS M2C advocates and their followers.
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No-wise #493 addresses several specific artifacts. These are not the evidences to which I referred in the previous paragraphs. In my view, these artifacts are irrelevant to the discussion, except as a distraction. I don’t think they prove or disprove anything about the Book of Mormon, and the controversy over them is a gift to detractors who dispute the historicity of the Book of Mormon narrative.

I think it’s a mistake for anyone, pro or con, to use these artifacts to promote an agenda.

That said, the approach taken by Book of Mormon Central Censor is fascinating. The case against these artifacts is not as iron-clad as they want readers to believe; they simply censor counter-arguments. Furthermore, the sources they cite, such as the Smithsonian, also refute the claims of M2C.

But they don’t tell their readers that, either.

Not only does BOMCC censor the teachings of the prophets and the evidence that supports the prophets, but BOMCC censors the conclusions of the very sources they otherwise rely upon when those conclusions contradict M2C. The approach taken by BOMCC is the opposite of objective, scientific analysis and presentation.
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Naturally, we wonder, why does BOMCC continue to seek to undermine evidence from North America that supports the Book of Mormon?

The answer: 

The fundamental premise of M2C is that the prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah. Everyone associated with BOMCC, including their donors, necessarily agrees with this premise.

I’ve pointed out many times that the New York Cumorah does not preclude any other geography for the rest of the events in the Book of Mormon. However, the M2C intellectuals have decided that the New York Cumorah is incompatible with their Mesoamerican setting, so they necessarily must persuade people that the prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah. To accomplish this, they must persuade people that the Book of Mormon narrative could not have taken place in North America.*

In this no-wise, for example, they start by undermining Joseph Smith:

Joseph Smith, on a few occasions, offered speculative arguments for the book’s authenticity by drawing from what was known in his day about ancient American antiquities.1

Let’s consider what this means. Speculative is defined as engaged in, expressing, or based on conjecture rather than knowledge and based on a guess and not on information.

Another definition:

conjectural consideration of a matter; conjecture or surmise: a report based on speculation rather than facts. engagement in business transactions involving considerable risk but offering the chance of large gains, especially trading in commodities, stocks, etc., in the hope of profit from changes in the market price.

Book of Mormon Central Censor insists that people believe Joseph was an ignorant speculator who misled the Church. The choice of the term “speculative” also imputes an element of high-risk, high-reward motivation on Joseph’s part.

In my view, this claim by M2C proponents is not even suggested by the historical facts, let alone demonstrated by them. The claim is outrageous, actually, but the M2C intellectuals have to persuade people to accept it or the entire M2C edifice will collapse.

Look at footnote 1:

See Mark Alan Wright, “Joseph Smith and Native American Artifacts,” in Approaching Antiquity: Joseph and the Ancient World, edited by Lincoln H. Blumell, Matthew J. Grey, and Andrew H. Hedges (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2015), 119–140.

I think the no-wise citation here is wishful thinking more than an accurate summary of Brother Wright’s article. Brother Wright is a great guy and a careful scholar, but he has also said he “can’t unsee” Mesoamerica when he reads the Book of Mormon. He’s “all-in” when it comes to M2C. Yet I don’t think he makes the claim that Joseph made speculative claims.

You can click on the link to read his article. He cites the Zelph incident, which those present specifically described as a revelation, not as speculation. He discusses the “ruins at Adam-Ondi-Ahman” and claims a statement not clearly attributable to Joseph was speculative. Next he discusses the anonymous articles in the 1842 Times and Seasons, which M2C advocates attribute to Joseph (an obvious misreading of history, not supported by any historical facts). Finally, he discusses the Kinderhook plates.

But notice, at no point does Brother Wright discuss the Hill Cumorah in New York, either Letter VII and its multiple reproductions, nor the statements of Joseph’s contemporaries on that subject.

Nevertheless, no-wise #493 wants you to believe Joseph and Oliver were merely speculating about the New York Cumorah, and thereby misled their contemporaries and successors as leaders of the Church. 

That’s what happens when intellectuals think they know more than the prophets.
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If you read or listen to No-wise #493, you quickly realize the No-wise is only telling one side of the story. It’s true that each of these artifacts has critics who claim the artifacts are fake. But there are also others, LDS and non-LDS, who accept some of these artifacts as authentic, also based on evidence.

I’m not going to revisit the debates over these artifacts because, as I said, I think the artifacts are irrelevant distractions. You can find all the arguments on the Internet if you want. But I’ll relate an experience I had that influences my approach.
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Years ago, I spent a couple of weeks in Lebanon with an archaeologist, visiting sites throughout the country for a documentary I was filming. At one site, we purchased some “ancient” Roman coins. The archaeologist told me that usually these are fakes, but the vendors can’t tell the difference so sometimes they sell authentic coins as well, because people dig them up all over the place. She examined the coins and picked out some likely candidates. I bought a handful that she recommended. I tested one of them and found it was fake. Maybe they’re all fakes (I should get them all tested some day), but according to sources I’ve consulted, some appear to be authentic.

The point is, the fakes appear real because they are copied from real artifacts. They match photos of real coins. They’re well worn. It’s the material composition that distinguishes between fake and real coins.

A guy making fake coins who used an image of the Queen of England instead of Caesar wouldn’t be able to sell his fakes. There is no incentive to create such an obvious fake.

Consequently, I’m skeptical when people claim someone created an obvious fake that is not copied from a real artifact.

When you read the analysis of the experts on both sides, the arguments boil down to what “should” or “should not” be present, such as an error in the Hebrew characters. Those arguments are unpersuasive to me because they are conjectural.

As to specifics, there is good evidence that the Michigan tablets, at least most of them, are fakes. I accept that evidence, but I also realize not all the artifacts have been tested, and many have been destroyed. But it does not seem impossible to me that there were authentic tablets that Soper and Savage copied.

The evidence regarding the Newark Holy Stones is equivocal enough to justify confirmation bias on all sides. Same with the Bat Creek Stone. I suspect the same is true of the other artifacts, but I don’t care about them enough to investigate further. As I said, it doesn’t matter to me whether they are authentic or fake because they are irrelevant.
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No-wise #493 follows the typical pattern we see in most of what Book of Mormon Central Censor publishes. In their effort so persuade people that the Book of Mormon is a Mesoamerican codex, they censor information that contradicts M2C, they repudiate the teachings of the prophets, and they apply inconsistent standards as they apply science, all while applying sophistry to confuse readers.

These tactics, in my opinion, reveal the paucity of actual evidence to support M2C.

When I unseal the indictment of M2C in January, this will all become much clearer.
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*Yes, I know Mesoamerica is technically part of North America, but M2C means a limited geography in Mesoamerica that excludes anything north of Mexico, especially the new York Cumorah. For purposes of this discussion, North America means the current U.S. and Canada, while Mesoamerica means southern Mexico and parts of Central America.

Many current members of the Church think the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory (M2C) has been around from the early days of the Church.

Here is one of the clearest explanations of M2C that I’m aware of:

BYU map depicting the RLDS teaching about Cumorah that contradicts all LDS prophets and apostles

To return especially to the location of the original hill Cumorah: We find no word by angels or by the voice of the Lord that the hill where Joseph found the plates was the historic hill. No revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants so designates it, and nowhere in his history did Joseph Smith write of it as Cumorah. In Times and Seasons volume 3, page 771, he says “stands a hill,” and “this hill,” and the angel told him to come to “that place” each year. At the final time he says that he went to “the place” where the plates were deposited…. 

I have no objection to that hill being also called Cumorah, with the understanding that the ancient hill Cumorah is still undiscovered, and that sometime its secrets will be revealed and come to the knowledge of God’s people…. 


For thirty-five years I held the error about Cumorah, until Early Cothell, of Independence, took the blinds off, and then study made all plain to me. But there have been so many controversies that I have hesitated for years about writing on this matter for publication, although urged to do so. But now, because many are dissatisfied with the old theory, I present this article in the interest of truth, that error be removed and the truth be made plain….

You might think this is a quotation from the latest no-wise from Book of Mormon Central Censor, or BYU Studies, or another publication of the M2C citation cartel. Indeed, many of the writings of the M2C citation cartel are virtually identical to this passage.

Notice especially the emphasis on how “study” made two-Cumorahs plain. This is the M2C orientation; i.e., unless you are trained correctly, you can’t understand the Book of Mormon or the teachings of the prophets.

Or perhaps you think this passage comes from the 1980s, when David Palmer, John Sorenson, FARMS, etc., made the M2C theory popular among Latter-day Saints.

In reality, this passage is about 100 years old.

It was written by Elder H. A. Stebbins, of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS), before he died in 1920.
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Today’s LDS students and youth know little to nothing about the RLDS. It was a group that rejected the leadership of Brigham Young. They adopted this resolution in 1854:

No. 1. Resolved, That this conference regards the pretensions of Brigham Young, James J. Strang, James C. Brewster, and William Smith and James Wood’s joint claim to the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as assumptions of power in violation of the law of God, and consequently we disclaim all connection and fellowship with them. 

The passage was quoted by L. E. Hills, another RLDS, who published it in a 1924 book titled New Light on American Archaeology.

You can read it yourself here:

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058377359;view=1up;seq=135

Notice that after quoting Stebbins, Hill went on to write, “I want later to take up the question of where Moroni was when he made the abridgment of the Jaredite record, and also show that he never left Mexico until he had completed that abridgment and nearly all of his writings.“

Of course, this directly contradicts the teachings of every LDS prophet and apostle who has ever formally discussed the hill Cumorah, including members of the First Presidency speaking in General Conference.

Today’s M2C intellectuals agree with Stebbins and Hills. 

They disagree with Joseph Fielding Smith, Marion G. Romney, Oliver Cowdery, etc.

The M2C cartel doesn’t even want you to know what the prophets and apostles have taught, as we’ve seen over and over, with the latest example being the Saints book.
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This idea of “two Cumorahs” prompted Church Historian and Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith (JFS) to object. He explained that

Because of this [two-Cumorahs] 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.

A full discussion is here:

http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/10/joseph-fielding-smith-rejected-two.html
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For many people, the choice between Hills and JFS is an easy one.

If you’re a proponent or follower of M2C, you think Stebbins and Hills were correct.

If you accept the teachings of the LDS prophets and apostles about the New York Cumorah, you think JFS was right.

Regardless of whom you believe, you can find plenty of evidence from archaeology, anthropology, geography and geology to support your belief. You can interpret the text to fit your belief.

That’s why this whole issue boils down to whether you choose to follow the prophets or to follow the intellectuals who say the prophets are wrong.
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Based on the inquiries I get, many people are still perplexed about the prevalence of M2C* in the Church today. This post is a quick summary for new readers.

Church members are perplexed because M2C directly and specifically repudiates the teachings of the prophets and apostles about the hill Cumorah in New York.

Promoters of M2C are faithful, well-meaning members of the Church who honestly think the prophets are wrong. These promoters teach that the prophets were merely “expressing personal opinions” but were wrong because they lacked the education to fully understand the Book of Mormon and the relevant sciences.

According to the M2C intellectuals, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and their successors were ignorant speculators who misled the Church about the New York Cumorah.

So we ask again, how did M2C spread throughout the Church?

There’s a simple explanation.

The youth in the Church have been, and still are being, groomed to believe M2C.

It starts with portrayals of Mayan temples in books for primary-age children.

No matter where you look, images of Mayan temples are indelibly linked to the Book of Mormon.

Then, in Seminary, Institute, and at BYU campuses, students are taught to understand the Book of Mormon by reference to fantasy-world maps, designed to resemble Mesoamerica.

These fantasy-world maps imprint an interpretation of the text that was developed specifically to justify M2C.

These maps have the side-effect of framing the Book of Mormon as fictional, akin to The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, or any popular video game.

Throughout the Church, the teachings of the prophets and apostles about the New York Cumorah are censored.

The book Saints is merely the latest example.

The authors publicly admitted they created a false historical narrative to censor the New York Cumorah and accommodate the modern idea of M2C.

But Saints is not alone. The New York Cumorah has been censored from lesson manuals, Church media, Church artwork, etc.

You can still find the teachings of the prophets and apostles if you read the General Conference reports and the Joseph Smith Papers, but even there, the search software suppresses Cumorah so it’s more difficult to find.
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M2C originated with scholars from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who also claimed Brigham Young was a false prophet.

Over the objection of LDS leaders including Joseph Fielding Smith, LDS scholars nevertheless embraced M2C.

Even when members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve taught the New York Cumorah in General Conference, these M2C scholars taught their students the prophets were wrong.

BYU Studies M2C map

Intellectual support for M2C grooming was provided for years by FARMS. FARMS was disbanded, but the intellectuals behind FARMS created new organizations to promote M2C.

Now M2C is being enforced by BYU Studies, the Interpreter, FairlyMormon, Meridian Magazine, and other members of the M2C citation cartel.

Fine young LDS scholars, educated by BYU and/or CES, believe what they’ve been taught about M2C, and now they are helping groom their peers and younger people through social media.

An organization called “Book of Mormon Central,” which I refer to as “Book of Mormon Central America” and “Book of Mormon Central Censor” (BOMCC), has a corporate goal “to increase understanding of the Book of Mormon as an ancient Mesoamerican codex.“

To accomplish this goal, BOMCC has an extensive and aggressive fundraising initiative, seeking donations from members of the Church to promote M2C.

BOMCC has editorial policy of actively promoting M2C, while also censoring any alternative ideas, including the teachings of the prophets and apostles.
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The antidote to M2C, like the antidote to all kinds of problems, is the plain teaching of the prophets and apostles.

If you don’t know what they have taught, you can start with Letter VII, an important explanation of the New York Cumorah from Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith. Letter VII is discussed here: http://www.lettervii.com/.
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In upcoming posts, we’ll examine the intellectual genealogy and psychology of M2C. We’ll also look at the underlying sciences and how real-world science supports the teachings of the prophets.

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* M2C is the acronym for the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory of Book of Mormon geography, which teaches that the prophets and apostles are wrong about the New York Cumorah, and that all the events of the Book of Mormon took place in a limited area of Mesoamerica.