Author: Jonathan Neville

For our year-end review, I’ll post the top 10 most viewed posts from 2022.

Here’s #10.

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/09/good-information-re-ny-cumorah.html

good information re: NY Cumorah

I like having multiple working hypotheses (MWH) to consider because I agree with President Nelson that “good inspiration is based on good information.”

You don’t get “good information” by censoring information, which is why I disagree with the approach taken by Book of Mormon Central, the M2C advocacy group masquerading as a scholarly organization.

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Among those of us Latter-day Saints who still believe what Joseph and Oliver taught about the New York Cumorah, there are also multiple working hypotheses, which is awesome. 

We’re all eager for additional good information, and there is an abundance of good information that corroborated the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah.

Here’s an example that perhaps not too many people know about:

https://northamericamodel.com/

I don’t agree with all of his assumptions and inferences, but that’s the point: unlike the M2C citation cartel, I think everyone should consider multiple working hypotheses.

Here, for example, he has a section on Cumorah that responds to Palmer’s Cumorah criteria.

https://northamericamodel.com/faqs#Question11

Source: About Central America

An outstanding article in the Deseret News explains the concept of “cognitive rigidity.”

https://www.deseret.com/2022/12/9/23422660/cognitive-rigidity-partisanship-polarization-lincoln

Cognitive rigidity is the foundation of the LDS citation cartel based on M2C and SITH. 

We continue to encourage Book of Mormon Central, the Interpreter, and FAIRLDS to provide their readers and viewers with access to all the facts, along with multiple faithful interpretations–including alternatives to M2C and SITH.

But we recognize that, so far, Jack Welch, Dan Peterson, and Scott Gordon adamantly refuse to do so. 

They’re all awesome people, faithful and smart, etc. But along with the organizations they lead, those three in particular exemplify the problem of cognitive rigidity, joined by their employees, collaborators, and followers, .

On this blog we’ve discussed the ways in which these three men, specifically, have sought to promote M2C and SITH by misrepresenting Church history, making up false information about the Heartland ideas, and refusing to permit alternative faithful interpretations on their websites.

By contrast, cognitive flexibility (i.e., accommodation of multiple working hypotheses) would assist Latter-day Saints to make informed decisions.

Think of how useful it would be for Latter-day Saints and their friends to have a comprehensive, accessible comparison analysis of the various faithful interpretations of Church history and related topics.

Instead, the citation cartel adheres to and enforces the personal beliefs of Jack Welch, Dan Peterson, and Scott Gordon.

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From the article:

Cognitive rigidity is the inability to mentally adapt or change. Its opposite is cognitive flexibility, the ability to consider different perspectives and opinions and in doing so, become a better person.

As a mental health counselor, I see cognitive rigidity at the root of many mental health issues, as well as relationship problems, conflict and hatred. People with depression become rigid in thinking about past pain and ruminate about past negative events. People with hatred become rigid in thinking narrowly about another group of people. 

…

Cognitive rigidity is supported by confirmation bias, which drives us to seek out information that supports our established positions. We return, over and over, to the same websites, podcasts and publications, and to people who speak our language…

Not only does cognitive rigidity harm us, but it also harms others, and it can cause destruction to the broader community.

…

Cognitive flexibility is what is needed in a democracy. It is, however, difficult to achieve. It takes an abundance of time and a tremendous amount of effort. It requires a disciplined mind grounded in a growth mindset instead of a fixed one. It takes self-mastery and self-control to authentically hear other views on the opposite side of what we think and value.

Cognitive flexibility is also difficult because it often creates cognitive dissonance, the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or attitudes, especially regarding behavioral decisions and attitude change.

…

Often, to remedy or prevent the uncomfortable feelings associated with dissonance, people will make up false information about the political party or person they favor or disfavor. Such thinking eliminates or lowers the uncomfortable feelings as the fabricated thoughts decrease the dissonance between differing values. This creates a state of psychological homeostasis, a comfortable and often good feeling.

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Source: About Central America

This is an important article about current issues. It primarily focuses on macro issues. I think the author overlooked the impact on conversion and retention rates presented by historical and doctrinal issues (including M2C and SITH), but he provides an insightful analysis along with specific recommendations.

The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion

David G. Stewart, Jr., University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faces diminished prospects for growth in the twenty-first century due to both institutional and societal factors. Growth rates in congregations and active membership averaged below one percent annually from 2009–2019.

Fertility, retention of member children, and new conversions have experienced ongoing declines. Institutional decisions that were once adaptive have become liabilities hindering growth and internationalization. The dichotomy between the Mormon “homeland” and the “mission field” has fueled asymmetric information, misaligned incentives, principal-agent problems, and a culture of nonparticipation in personal evangelism by leaders and members. Reforms have sent mixed messages without resolving underlying pathologies.

Societal conditions are decidedly less favorable for LDS growth than in the late twentieth century. The human rights situation has deteriorated worldwide, Christianity is experiencing proportional decline in most world regions, and prospects for mission outreach in unreached nations are dim.

Medium-term growth in active LDS membership and congregations is likely to average below one percent annually. Over longer periods, losses may occur. The faith experiences its brightest prospects in Africa, where it is likely to achieve active growth. The LDS Church has lost its competitive advantages and is likely to continue to underperform its major competitors.

Stewart, David G. 2022. “The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion,”  Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association  1, no. 1: 21–71. https://doi.org/10.54587/JMSSA.0102 

pdf download:

http://jmssa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Stewart2022.pdf

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

M2Cers are typically paranoid about any direct comparisons between M2C and the Heartland models of Book of Mormon geography. They have reason to be. 

Direct comparisons expose their basic belief that the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah. Comparisons also expose the way they manipulate the text to find “correspondences” to Mayan culture that every actual Mayan expert knows are illusory, if not delusional. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. People can believe whatever they want.

But of all the M2Cers, the ones who run MormonDialog are among the most paranoid of all. 

People have been sending me links to this page:

https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/74908-bom-geography-theory-survey/page/3/

(I’ll post some choice excerpts below because the moderators there have a habit of deleting posts they don’t like.)

The M2Cers apparently think that anyone who posts about Heartland on their site must be me in disguise, using another name(s).

And yet, I haven’t posted anything there in years, either in my name or another name.

What the M2Cers don’t realize is that Latter-day Saints around the world are discovering the logical and factual fallacies that underly the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory. They’re speaking up on social media.

Only an M2Cer would think this is threatening. Heartlanders are happy for people to explore multiple working hypotheses and make informed decisions, but that approach is anathema to M2Cers.

M2Cers need to get ready. They should start by re-examining the premises behind M2C itself.

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Sample posts from some of the anonymous, paranoid clowns at Mormondialog:

Even their “Senior Admin” is anonymous, which makes sense because of his paranoia.

Source: About Central America

Source: About Central America

I have a section in my upcoming book (The Rational Restoration) on “narrative poisoning.” 

While I favor the approach of multiple working hypotheses, the implications of each hypothesis must be recognized as people make informed decisions.

The concept of narrative poisoning goes like this.

Certain LDS scholars adopted a narrative about Book of Mormon geography (the limited Mesoamerican setting invented by L.E. Hills in the early 1900s, aka the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory, or M2C).

Why did they do this?

Because they honestly (and not unreasonably) believed M2C would help demonstrate the historicity of the Book of Mormon. They thought Joseph Smith taught that Mayan ruins in Central America were Nephite ruins because of anonymous editorials in the 1842 Times and Seasons, so they ran with it. They rationalized that a Mesoamerican setting precluded a New York Cumorah, so therefore the “real Cumorah” must be somewhere in Mexico. 

This includes BYU professors such as John Sorenson, Jack Welch, and Dan Peterson, as well as non-BYU people such as Scott Gordon and Kirk Magleby. All great guys, faithful Latter-day Saints, with good intentions and lots of support and encouragement from their students, readers, followers, and even some Church leaders. 

The problem is, they had to repudiate the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah to make M2C work.

[see maps below]

The M2C narrative thereby poisoned LDS intellectual thought in four ways (at least).

1. The M2C narrative–that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery ignorantly speculated about Book of Mormon geography and were wrong about Cumorah–opened the door to questioning other things they claimed as facts.

2. The M2C narrative established the principle that the “informed opinions” of credentialed intellectuals superseded the “uninformed opinions” of prophets.

3. The M2C narrative employs sophistry to repudiate not only the teachings of Joseph and Oliver about Cumorah, but also the plain declarations of both (i) their closest associates, including Lucy Mack Smith, David Whitmer, Martin Harris, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and others, and (ii) their successors including members of the First Presidency speaking in General Conference.

4. The M2C narrative became so deeply entrenched in LDS thought that it gave rise to the citation cartel (FARMS, then Book of Mormon Central and the Interpreter, along with FAIRLDS). The M2C logo (see below) poisons innumerable books, videos, articles, and other media. The citation cartel enforces M2C to the point that now, few Latter-day Saints even know what the prophets have taught about Cumorah and many LDS “can’t unsee” Mesoamerica in the Book of Mormon. This cognitive rigidity plagues Latter-day Saints and facilitates attacks by critics.   

The M2C narrative poisoning seeped out of the geography context into other corners of Church history, prompting LDS intellectuals to challenge the claims of Joseph and Oliver regarding the translation itself.

Thus we end up with the recent embrace of SITH (the stone-in-the-hat theory) that repudiates what Joseph and Oliver taught about the translation. Instead of learning what Joseph and Oliver taught, LDS students and converts learn what David Whitmer and Mormonism Unvailed taught.

These twin narratives–M2C and SITH–have poisoned the faith of many Latter-day Saints, who, sadly ignorant of the teachings of the prophets and how the evidence corroborates those teachings, easily succumb to the arguments of the critics who are delighted to amplify the poisonous narratives of M2C and SITH. 

Is there an antidote to this narrative poisoning?

The answer is obvious. 

Simply return to the simple, clear truths taught by Joseph and Oliver about Cumorah and the translation of the plates.

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The M2C logo depicts a Mayan glyph to represent the Book of Mormon.

The M2C logo subliminally poisons everyone who watches the popular Come Follow Me Insights program, which Book of Mormon Central spends millions of dollars to produce and promote.

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L.E. Hills map, circa 1917

BYU Studies/Welch/Sorenson map, circa 1980s to present

Seminary and Institute map, circa 2000 to present

Source: About Central America

“We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.”

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-between-circa-26-june-and-circa-4-august-1839-a-as-reported-by-willard-richards/8

Zion is the pure in heart, a people of one heart and one mind, dwelling in righteousness with no poor among them. The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.” We build up Zion in our homes, wards, branches, and stakes through unity, godliness, and charity.

(2019, April, D. Todd Christofferson, ‘Preparing for the Lord’s Return,’ Ensign, April 2019, ¶ 21)

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

Last Sunday’s lesson covered Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Because we were traveling, we listened to a podcast of the Tyler and Taylor show from Book of Mormon Central. 

Always fun to see their ridiculous M2C logo, featuring a Mayan glyph to represent the Book of Mormon. 

There were two points in these books relevant to Book of Mormon geography/historicity. Naturally, Tyler and Taylor didn’t mention them, but we shouldn’t overlook these points.

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In Nahum, we learn about the original (ancient Hebrew) word translated into English as “sea.” The term “sea” is used 302 times in the KJV Old Testament to translate a variety Hebrew words referring to various bodies of water.

This is significant because the Book of Mormon uses the English term “sea” 95 times. Most people (particularly M2Cers) simply assume it refers only to oceans. That’s not unreasonable, but it’s only one of multiple working hypotheses. 

Other readers (including me) think the term can refer to a variety of bodies of water, including oceans, large lakes, and mighty rivers–just as it does in the KJV Old Testament.

The Hebrew word used in Nahum 3:8, translated as “sea” in the KJV, is yam. You can see it in Strong’s Concordance here:

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3220.htm

6 of a mighty river, the Nile Nahum 3:8 (twice in verse); Isaiah 19:5 (“” נָהָר); compare הַתַּנִּין אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם Isaiah 27:1 and כַּתַּנִּים בַּיַּמִּים Ezekiel 32:2 (simile of Pharaoh); of Euphrates Isaiah 21:1; Jeremiah 51:36 (according to Che Gf and others; Isaiah 21:1 perhaps better of Persian Gulf, see Di).

In Nahum 3:8, the term “sea” actually means “a mighty river,” in this case the Nile River.

The KJV verse refers to “No” which is Thebes, near Luxor, and which is far from any oceans and even far from the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

Alternative translations make the meaning a little clearer:

https://biblehub.com/nahum/3-8.htm

The bottom line here is that the term “sea” in the Book of Mormon may refer at times to “a mighty river,” just like the term “sea” does in Nahum.

Thus, the “west sea south” (Alma 53:8) can refer to the Mississippi River, as I discussed in Moroni’s America and other places.

This interpretation not only correlates with Nahum and Isaiah, but the lower Mississippi River as the “west sea south” fits the overall geographical descriptions in the text.

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Zephaniah 3 deserves an entire article, but in the interest of time, I’ll mention just a few things.

Zephaniah 3:10 references Isaiah 18:1. These are the only two verses in the Bible that use this phrase.

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. (Zephaniah 3:10)

Woe [i.e., hail] to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: (Isaiah 18:1)

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2017/03/the-land-shadowing-with-wings.html 

This is one way we can tell that Lehi traveled around Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, as we depict in the Lemurs book.

(click to enlarge)

Alternative translations of Zephaniah make the meaning a little more clear.

New Living Translation
My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings.

Amplified Bible
“From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, [the descendants of] My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

Two additional notes.

Zephaniah 3:14 says “Sing, O daughter of Zion.” Moroni invoked that term in Moroni 10:31: “put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion.” This is the only reference in the latter-day scriptures to “O daughter of Zion.” (2 other references in the Book of Mormon quote Isaiah 52:2 “O captive daughter of Zion”).

D&C 82 further links the passage to the land of the Restoration:

13 For I have consecrated the land of Kirtland in mine own due time for the benefit of the saints of the Most High, and for a stake to Zion.

14 For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.

(Doctrine and Covenants 82:13–14)

Other passages in Zephaniah refer to the gathering, the restoration, and “my holy mountain,” all of which are significant to our day.

One Christian commentator interprets this chapter to the “Promise of Restoration.”

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/zephaniah-3/

Source: About Central America