Author: Jonathan Neville

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Benefits of Moroni’s America – Cumorah

People ask what difference the geography makes. In a series of posts, I’m going to discuss some of the benefits of the North American setting, which goes under several terms, including Moroni’s America and the Heartland model.

Let’s start with Cumorah.
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Imagine you’re visiting Palmyra to learn about the origins of the Church.

Imagine you are 10 years old. Or 15. Or 18-19, getting ready to serve a mission.

Or imagine you have your kids with you. Or your grandchildren.

You stop at the Joseph Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. You learn about the visit of Moroni to Joseph Smith and how he walked to the hill Moroni showed him in vision.

Now, drive south from the Joseph Smith farm.

You leave the Joseph Smith farm and drive to Cumorah

Have someone read out loud what Oliver Cowdery wrote in Letter VII:
You are acquainted with the mail road from Palmyra, Wayne Co. to Canandaigua, Ontario Co. N. Y. and also, as you pass from the former to the latter place, before arriving at the little village of Manchester, say from three to four, or about four miles from Palmyra, you pass a large hill on the east side of the road. Why I say large, is, because it is as large perhaps, as any in that country. To a person acquainted with this road, a description would be unnecessary, as it is the largest and rises the highest of any on that route. The north end rises quite sudden until it assumes a level with the more southerly extremity, and I think I may say an elevation higher than at the south a short distance, say half or three fourths of a mile. As you pass toward Canandaigua it lessens gradually until the surface assumes its common level, or is broken by other smaller hills or ridges, water courses and ravines. I think I am justified in saying that this is the highest hill for some distance round, and I am certain that its appearance, as it rises so suddenly from a plain on the north, must attract the notice of the traveller as he passes by.
You arrive at the Hill Cumorah and drive to the top
At about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale between. The soil is of the first quality for the country, and under a state of cultivation, which gives a prospect at once imposing, when one reflects on the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.

From the top of the hill, you look west as Oliver Cowdery did and see the ridge a mile away.

By turning to the 529th and 530th pages of the Book of Mormon, you will read Mormon’s account of the last great struggle of his people, as they were encamped round this hill Cumorah. (It is printed Camorah, which is an error.) In this valley fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the Nephites—once so highly favored of the Lord, but at that time in darkness, doomed to suffer extermination by the hand of their barbarous and uncivilized brethren. 

From the air, over the ridge to the west, you look back at the hill Cumorah and see the battlefield.


From the top of this hill, Mormon, with a few others, after the battle, gazed with horror upon the mangled remains of those who, the day before, were filled with anxiety, hope, or doubt. A few had fled to the South, who were hunted down by the victorious party, and all who would not deny the Savior and his religion, were put to death. Mormon himself, according to the record of his son Moroni, was also slain.

But a long time previous to this national disaster it appears from his own account, he foresaw approaching destruction. In fact, if he perused the records of his fathers, which were in his possession, he could have learned that such would be the case. Alma, who lived before the coming of the Messiah, prophesies this. He however, by Divine appointment, abridged from those records, in his own style and language, a short account of the more important and prominent items, from the days of Lehi to his own time, after which he deposited, as he says, on the 529th page, all the records in this same hill, Cumorah, and after gave his small record to his son Moroni, who, as appears from the same, finished it, after witnessing the extinction of his people as a nation.

Oliver Cowdery, Letter VII.
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That’s what you experience if you understand the North American setting and you believe Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, David Whitmer, etc.

It’s an awesome experience to walk in Book of Mormon lands this way, right in western New York.
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Alternative experience.

Or, if you believe in the non-New York theories (Mesoamerica, Baja, Panama, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, etc.) you can walk into the Visitors Centers and find some confirmation of your theories. You will be told, based on the work of our LDS scholars, that Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith were speculating, that they were wrong, and that they adopted a false tradition about Cumorah being in New York.

Okay, that’s not actually part of the script.

In fact, most missionaries in New York that I’ve spoken do don’t believe the LDS scholars and their Mesoamerican theories, despite what they have to tell visitors.

But the Mesoamerican setting is implicit in the Pageant and everything else in the Visitors Centers.

One thing is for sure: the script and the displays don’t mention Letter VII. 

There are no displays of Cumorah as the scene of the final battles, no quotations of Mormon 6:6, etc.
The “real Cumorah,” you’ll be informed, is somewhere in southern Mexico, as shown in this artwork:

Alma baptizing near the “thicket of small trees” somewhere in the Mesoamerican jungle.

The Savior appearing to Mayans in Mesoamerica among massive stone temples, which has nothing to do with the text of the Book of Mormon or the Nephites.

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Bottom line: The benefit of the North American setting is you can appreciate the text the same way Joseph and Oliver and David did. You can walk where Mormon and Moroni and their people did.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Consensus on Cumorah

Although there are plenty of criticisms of the idea of consensus, I still believe consensus is important.

I also believe that scholars, leaders, and members of the Church will reach consensus about Book of Mormon geography.

Eventually.

But why wait? 

We can reach consensus right now about the location of Cumorah in Mormon 6:6.

This should be easy.

But apparently it’s not because it hasn’t happened yet.
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The process may be driven by any of three main groups.

If enough members of the Church become educated on the topic, such as by reading Letter VII, that will eventually lead to consensus. Church leaders could encourage consensus by focusing on this topic. And the scholars could promote consensus by rejecting the false two-Cumorahs theory.

At this point, I think the driving force will be the members. 

It is the members of the Church who, on a daily basis, confront the issue. They have to decide what to teach their children, and the current confusion that reigns is uncomfortable at best and ultimately unacceptable. People are dealing with their cognitive dissonance by ignoring the implications (and by insisting a spiritual witness is all that matters), but that’s a short-term response that is ultimately counterproductive for many people (and the vast majority of investigators).

For some people, the spiritual witness is sufficient. But let’s get real. After all, every religion is based on a spiritual witness of its holy books and teachings. Ask any believing Christian, Muslim, or Hindu if they have a spiritual witness. Or just read 2 Nephi 29:12.

The Book of Mormon is uniquely true because of its historicity, not in spite of it.

If members are involved in reactivation or missionary work in any way, they know the two-Cumorahs theory is a common tool used by the opposition (whether anti-Mormon or former Mormon). I’ve had investigators tell me that of course they will get a spiritual witness by praying about the Book of Mormon because it contains so many quotations from the Bible, but they say that doesn’t mean the parts that aren’t quoting from the Bible are true. If we can’t explain where the events took place–if we can’t even agree among ourselves where they took place–if we don’t even accept what Joseph and Oliver had to say about it–why should they accept the non-Biblical parts of the Book of Mormon?

Anyone with Internet access and curiosity about the Book of Mormon learns quickly that LDS scholars formally repudiate what Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer said about Cumorah.

How do you think that goes over with investigators?

Or even young adults in the Church?

Or the inactive people on your home/visiting teaching lists?

When the illustrations in the missionary editions of the Book of Mormon themselves falsely promise a narrative of jungles, pyramids, and Mayans that appear nowhere in the text, we should all recognize we have a major problem.
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In my view, LDS scholars undermine the otherwise good work they do when they continue to insist that:

1) Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery didn’t know what they were talking about regarding Cumorah,

2) Joseph and Oliver speculated about (and thereby deceived) all of their contemporaries when they collaborated on Letter VII.

3) David Whitmer provided false testimony later in his life.

4) Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and others related false accounts of the records repository in the New York hill.
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All of these problems and more would be eliminated if we could simply reach consensus that Joseph and Oliver and their contemporaries were correct about Cumorah in New York.

The debate about the extent of Nephite territory beyond the New York Cumorah can continue, of course. People can propose that Zarahemla is in New York, Iowa, Louisiana, or even southern Mexico, Baja, or Quirigua for all I care.

But that debate doesn’t undermine the credibility and reliability of the founders of the Church.

So how about it? Can we at least agree on the New York Cumorah?

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

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Cumorah: Prophets vs. Scholars

I haven’t posted each lesson because I set out the basic geography in the early part of the year. There’s plenty of more detailed information in my books and at http://moronisamerica.com/

But now we’re approaching the Cumorah issue, so I wanted to frame the question for every Sunday School teacher who reads this blog.

The question of Book of Mormon geography boils down to Cumorah, and the Cumorah question boils down to the difference between prophets and scholars.

Which do you follow?
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One of the key premises of the “two-Cumorahs” theory* is that Joseph Smith adopted a false tradition started by someone, presumably Oliver Cowdery, that the hill in New York was the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

This is the way the scholars rationalize away Letter VII, David Whitmer’s discussion of Cumorah, D&C 128, etc. Then Joseph F. Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, George Albert Smith, and others (not to mention all of Joseph Smith’s contemporaries) also relied on this false tradition.

How do we know the New York Cumorah is a false tradition?

Because current LDS scholars say so.

Seriously.

Important note: I don’t intend to offend anyone with this blog entry; if I’m wrong in any respect, I hope someone will correct me. I’d be happy to edit this post if I’ve misstated anything. Plus, I would very much like to know about any current LDS scholars (including BYU/CES educators) who accept the New York Cumorah and reject the two-Cumorahs theory.

This two-Cumorahs theory is the argument that underlies the limited-geography Mesoamerican theory that is the “consensus” among LDS scholars and educators. (Ask around if you don’t already know this. Some people who believe the Mesoamerican setting don’t realize it depends on the two-Cumorahs theory, but it does.)

The scholars say it’s more important to listen to the scholars who currently advise the Brethren than to listen to the prophets themselves.

I’m not kidding. This approach is implicit in everything they write about Mesoamerica. If you read FairMormon, FARMS/Maxwell Institute, the Interpreter, Book of Mormon Central, BMAF, and the rest, their theories of geography all rely on the two-Cumorahs theory.

Here’s a graphic I use in some of my presentations.

A few days ago, the Mormon Leaks channel on Youtube released videos of several presentations given to the Quorum of the Twelve. The Deseret News summarized the leaked videos here. You can see the videos here.

What Mesoamerican advocates say is, you should listen to the advisers, not the prophets, seers, and revelators.
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Really, the question of Book of Mormon geography is quite simple. 

And it all starts with Cumorah, the pin in the map that connects Book of Mormon geography with modern geography.

In my view, it is the two-Cumorahs theory that is false.

It’s a binary decision. Either Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is in New York, or it’s not. (And if it’s not, does it even matter where it is?)

The only question is, what do you think?
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NOTE: *The “two-Cumorahs” theory holds that the hill in New York currently named Cumorah (the Church-owned hill where the Pageant is held every year) is not the Cumorah mentioned in Mormon 6:6. That Cumorah is somewhere in southern Mexico, or Baja, or somewhere in South America, or Africa, or Asia. The only consistent claim of the “two-Cumorahs” theory is that it cannot be in New York. This theory originated with RLDS scholars in the 1920s and was adopted by LDS scholars over the specific objection of Joseph Fielding Smith.

Source: 2016 Gospel Doctrine Resource

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Prophets vs scholars

The question of Book of Mormon geography boils down to Cumorah, and the Cumorah question boils down to the difference between prophets and scholars.

Which do you follow?
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One of the key premises of the “two-Cumorahs” theory* is that Joseph Smith adopted a false tradition started by someone, presumably Oliver Cowdery, that the hill in New York was the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

This is the way the scholars rationalize away Letter VII, David Whitmer’s discussion of Cumorah, D&C 128, etc. Then Joseph F. Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, George Albert Smith, and others (not to mention all of Joseph Smith’s contemporaries) also relied on this false tradition.

How do we know the New York Cumorah is a false tradition?

Because current LDS scholars say so.

Seriously.

Important note: I don’t intend to offend anyone with this blog entry; if I’m wrong in any respect, I hope someone will correct me. I’d be happy to edit this post if I’ve misstated anything. Plus, I would very much like to know about any current LDS scholars (including BYU/CES educators) who accept the New York Cumorah and reject the two-Cumorahs theory.

This two-Cumorahs theory is the argument that underlies the limited-geography Mesoamerican theory that is the “consensus” among LDS scholars and educators. (Ask around if you don’t already know this. Some people who believe the Mesoamerican setting don’t realize it depends on the two-Cumorahs theory, but it does.)

The scholars say it’s more important to listen to the scholars who currently advise the Brethren than to listen to the prophets themselves.

I’m not kidding. This approach is implicit in everything they write about Mesoamerica. If you read FairMormon, FARMS/Maxwell Institute, the Interpreter, Book of Mormon Central, BMAF, and the rest, their theories of geography all rely on the two-Cumorahs theory.

Here’s a graphic I use in some of my presentations.

A few days ago, the Mormon Leaks channel on Youtube released videos of several presentations given to the Quorum of the Twelve. The Deseret News summarized the leaked videos here. You can see the videos here.

What Mesoamerican advocates say is, you should listen to the advisers, not the prophets, seers, and revelators.
_________________________

Really, the question of Book of Mormon geography is quite simple. 

And it all starts with Cumorah, the pin in the map that connects Book of Mormon geography with modern geography.

In my view, it is the two-Cumorahs theory that is false.

It’s a binary decision. Either Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) is in New York, or it’s not. (And if it’s not, does it even matter where it is?)

The only question is, what do you think?
______________________

NOTE: *The “two-Cumorahs” theory holds that the hill in New York currently named Cumorah (the Church-owned hill where the Pageant is held every year) is not the Cumorah mentioned in Mormon 6:6. That Cumorah is somewhere in southern Mexico, or Baja, or somewhere in South America, or Africa, or Asia. The only consistent claim of the “two-Cumorahs” theory is that it cannot be in New York. This theory originated with RLDS scholars in the 1920s and was adopted by LDS scholars over the specific objection of Joseph Fielding Smith.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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This Is the Place

In Salt Lake City, there is a monument titled “This is the Place.” It has its own web page here, which explains the monument: “This obelisk is the first permanent “This Is The Place” Monument, erected in 1921, to commemorate the arrival into the Salt Lake Valley of the Mormon pioneers. It is near the actual location where Brigham Young halted his wagon on July 24, 1847 and declared, “This is the right place. Drive on.” The monument was refurbished and rededicated in 2007 under the direction of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers.”

I know the site well because many years ago, I worked for the company that did the landscaping. I laid out the walkways and installed the sprinkler system.

But I think it’s time for a second “This Is the Place” monument.

In New York.

Source: Letter VII

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General Conference emphasis on Book of Mormon

It has been a while since the Book of Mormon has been featured in so many talks at General Conference. It’s wonderful to hear so much about it.

Here’s one example (summary from lds.org here):

Look to the Book, Look to the Lord

Elder Gary E. Stevenson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Each of you can … receive a personal witness of this book! Do you realize that the Book of Mormon was written for you—and for your day? This book is one of the blessings of living in what we call the dispensation of the fulness of times. …
In order to help the Book of Mormon become the keystone of your testimony, I offer you a challenge. I recently learned that many young people spend an average of seven hours a day looking at TV, computer, and smartphone screens. With this in mind, would you make a small change? Will you replace some of that daily screen time—particularly that devoted to social media, the internet, gaming, or television—with reading the Book of Mormon? If the studies I referred to are accurate, you could easily find time for daily study of the Book of Mormon even if for only 10 minutes a day. And you can study in a way that allows you to enjoy it and understand it—either on your device or in book form. …
Within the book’s pages, you will discover the infinite love and incomprehensible grace of God. As you strive to follow the teachings you find there, your joy will expand, your understanding will increase, and the answers you seek to the many challenges mortality presents will be opened to you. As you look to the book, you look to the Lord. The Book of Mormon is the revealed word of God.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Welcome to France!

According to the web stats, France has now become the #2 audience for this blog after the United States.

Welcome to everyone from France!

(I’m partial to France because I served a mission there. I’ve lived in Europe for 8 years so far and hope to be able to live there again at some point.)

In fact, if any French readers want to comment in French, feel free. Some of you email me from time to time, but it would be fun to have you post here in French.

Here is the audience as of Oct 1, ranked by page views:

United States
France
Canada
Ireland
Portugal
Ukraine
China
Germany
United Kingdom
Russia

I’ve visited all these countries except Ukraine. Actually, I’ve done work projects in all of them except Ukraine and Ireland.

In August, Russia was #2. If I remember going forward, I’ll update audience sources at the first of each month.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Upcoming projects

Almost daily people ask me what I’m working on now, so here’s a rough timeline of upcoming projects.

1. October. We’re releasing my book Whatever Happened to the Golden Plates probably around mid-October. It’s been out for reviews and I’m getting a strong positive response.

2. November. We’re releasing a book version of the best of this blog. As I’ve mentioned before, when converted to Word, this blog is over 1200 pages long, so there’s a lot of editing involved. But people want access to the details, so we decided to go ahead and publish it.

3. November. We’ll release my book The Editors: Joseph, William and Don Carlos Smith which I presented last week at the John Whitmer Historical Association annual meeting in Kirtland.

4. December. I have a project involving Christianity and the Book of Mormon that is pretty exciting. I’ve been testing it with great results. I hope we can release it in early December.

In the meantime, next week after General Conference, I’m announcing projects on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other venues. Next week is going to be awesome.

🙂

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Mesomania book now available

The Mesomania book is now on Amazon. You can find it here. This is an Amazon exclusive version, titled Mormon Mesomania.

By way of explanation, I’m not criticizing any current LDS scholars. I fully respect their efforts and deeply appreciate the good work they’ve done in many fields. Plus, they’re great people. I just think they’re making a fundamental mistake about the geography question and I’m just trying to understand the psychology behind the Mesoamerican theory. It’s a fascinating topic, and I have a much longer manuscript, but everyone wants short books, so I made the Mesomania as short as I could.

For those new to this blog, I don’t care what anyone thinks about Book of Mormon geography and historicity so long as it works for them and gets them to read the text and incorporate the teachings.

However, it seems obvious that the vast majority of the people in the world reject the Book of Mormon as a legitimate, authentic history. This includes members of the Church, too many of whom are inactive. Even among active members, many don’t think the Book of Mormon is an authentic history.

I do.

And I think the Mesoamerican theory is a distraction that deters people from accepting the Book of Mormon as an authentic history. Of course, there are some people who find great value in seeing Mesoamerican culture in the text. That’s fine. As I said, whatever works. You can apply the scriptures to yourselves by reading into the text attributes of African culture, Chilean culture, etc.

But when the scholars present only the Mesoamerican theory to their students (or, just as bad, an abstract map theory), and seek to present only that theory to the world through missionary work, in my view it’s a serious mistake because, as Joseph Fielding Smith warned, the theory causes members (and investigators) to become confused and disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.

I think the Mesoamerican distraction originated with Benjamin Winchester, William Smith and others in the 1840s, but it died down until the 1920s when the limited geography setting in Mesoamerica was developed by RLDS scholars. They were the first to reject the New York Cumorah; so far as I can discover, not a single person who knew Joseph rejected the New York Cumorah.

LDS scholars at BYU gradually adopted the RLDS position over the objection of Joseph Fielding Smith, and that’s where we are today.

I’m hoping we can change course, embrace Letter VII and the other early teachings, and become united as LDS who have full faith in the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
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In Mesomannia, I explain my views on the psychology that drives the effort by modern LDS scholars to promote the Mesoamerican theory. Among other things, they are seeking to accomplish these objectives:

1. Reject Letter VII by characterizing Oliver Cowdery as a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.

2. Reject David Whitmer’s accounts because he, too, was a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.

3. Portray Joseph Smith as an uncertain man who 1) embraced a false tradition about the Hill Cumorah in New York and 2) changed his mind about the North American setting and embraced a Mesoamerican setting with the expectation that modern LDS scholars would answer the questions about Book of Mormon geography.
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For me, those objectives undermine faith and are the fulfillment of Joseph Fielding Smith’s warning.

And it’s all so unnecessary.

Which is why I want to understand the psychology, and why I wrote Mesomania.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars