Author: Jonathan Neville

We can look at the highly successful British Mission in 1840-1841 as an example (see below).

The table below compares the approach taken by the Apostles in the British Mission with the standard approach taken today in Church manuals, lessons, media presentations, visitors centers, magazines, etc.

As you consider these, realize that there is substantial extrinsic evidence to support both scenarios. You can find evidence from archaeology, anthropology, geology, geography, linguistics, etc. to support whichever position you favor.

One happens to corroborate the prophets. The other happens to repudiate the prophets.

Which approach do you think would have more appeal? Which would generate more interest and bring more people to Christ?

The Church reportedly has $100 billion in liquid investments (probably reduced to around $80 billion now). Imagine a well-funded, re-tooled missionary message that focused on the teachings of the prophets instead of the teachings of the scholars.

It’s an interesting thought experiment, at least.
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Lessons from the British Mission

Modern missionary work could learn some important lessons from the British Mission in the 1830s and 1840s.

Then, as today, the Book of Mormon is the key to conversion. It’s the instrument the Lord prepared to gather scattered Israel.

The missionaries in England in the 1830s and 1840s encouraged investigators to consider physical evidence as well as to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

Today, missionaries are told not to discuss, or even mention, physical evidence for the Book of Mormon. Investigators and the missionaries themselves are left wondering where all of these events took place.

Most investigators check the Internet. There, they learn four things:

1. DNA “disproves” the Book of Mormon (and the Gospel Topics DNA essay has little persuasive effect as a counter to the critics).

2. LDS scholars say the prophets and apostles have been wrong when they have taught that Cumorah is in New York.

3. LDS scholars generally agree the events occurred in Mesoamerica but strongly disagree about exactly where.

4. Non-LDS scholars see zero connection between the Book of Mormon and Mesoamerican civilizations.

Contrast this state of affairs with what the early Apostles did when they went to England.

Among other things, Parley P. Pratt published Oliver’s historical letters in the Millennial Star, beginning with his second issue in June 1840. He published Letter VII in October 1840.

Not only was it a definite fact that Cumorah, the scene of the final battles, was in New York, but Pratt also editorialized about additional physical evidence. He explained, “If any further proof of the truth of the Book of Mormon were wanting than the spirit of inspiration and truth which is breathed into the soul of every honest man as he reads the blessed volume, he might easily find it in the ruins of cities, towns, military roads, forts, fortifications, mounds, artificial caves, temples, statues, monuments, obelisks, hieroglyphics, sculptured altars, aqueducts, and an endless variety of articles of husbandry, cooking utensils…”

Pratt mentioned physical evidence throughout North and South America. In our day, we have more detailed knowledge of these civilizations, including their DNA, and we see that what the Lord told us in D&C 28, 30, and 32–that the descendants of Lehi are the Indians living in New York, Ohio, and Missouri (where they had been relocated from the East)–fits the descriptions in the text in terms of anthropology, archaeology, geology and geography.
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Now, let’s compare the results of the two approaches to missionary work.

Brigham Young reported when he left in April 1841,

“We landed in the spring of 1840, as strangers in a strange land and penniless, but through the mercy of God we have gained many friends, established churches in almost every noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain, baptized between seven and eight thousand, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, 3,000 Hymn Books, 2,500 [copies] of the Millennial Star, and 50,000 tracts, and emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls.”

Assuming his numbers were correct, 7,000-8,000 converts in a year when there were only about 16,000 members total means nearly one convert per every two members. In terms of converts as a percentage of membership, this is 50%.

It means more than one convert per copy of the Book of Mormon printed.

Today, there are over 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon in print. There are nearly 16 million members, with around 300,000 converts per year. The chart below, from roundelmike.com, is the conversion rate for the last few years, where it has declined from less than 5% to less than 2%.

Think of this. 50% vs 2%.

Obviously, when you have a smaller base, it’s easier to grow at a rapid rate. We can’t expect the success of the British Mission to continue today. We all know the challenges are different, etc.

Some things haven’t changed. As in the British Mission, today’s missionaries tell people to read the book, live the teachings, and pray about it.

But unlike today, the missionaries in the British Mission were not going around telling people there was no evidence of the Book of Mormon. 

And unlike today, the missionaries in the British Mission were not being taught before they left that the prophets and apostles were wrong about Cumorah in New York.

Instead, the British missionaries published and taught Letter VII. They encouraged people to consider the physical evidence.

And despite tremendous opposition, the missionaries in the British Mission succeeded in converting thousands of people, more than one for every Book of Mormon printed.

Printing numbers are irrelevant today when most people use electronic versions, but since more than 150 million physical copies of the Book of Mormon have been printed, a success rate comparable to the British Mission would have converted well over 150 million people.

Which is about what we should expect, given that we have the truth.

We all know there are myriad differences between 1840 England and the modern world in 2017, but those differences cut both ways. People may be more worldly and less religious, but communications are easier and there is far less opposition. Missionaries are free to travel and teach in most of the world, and the Internet gives additional access beyond that.

In fact, if the modern world is less religious and more skeptical than 1840 England, that’s all the more reason to offer more evidence, not less.

We could start with a simple step.

Why not have missionaries teach the words of the prophets and apostles about Cumorah in New York? 

We may not have specific answers for the rest of the geography, but we have that pin in the map that takes the Book of Mormon out of the realm of mystical fiction, where it exists today in the minds of most of the world (and even in the minds of many members of the Church, especially those being taught an “abstract” fantasy map at BYU).

Once we as members reach unity by believing the words of the prophets on the Cumorah issue, then we can work on the rest of the physical evidence. 

Maybe, having exercised faith in the words of the prophets, we’ll be in a position for the Lord to assist us (a topic for another day).

Now, here is the background on the British Mission.
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After the keys of the gathering of Israel were restored to the earth to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland temple (D&C 110), Joseph sent Parley P. Pratt to Toronto, promising that his work there would “lead to the introduction of the gospel into England.” Among his converts were John Taylor and Joseph Fielding. In 1837, Joseph sent Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde to England. They returned home in April 1838, having converted about 1,500 people in England.

In Far West in April 1838, Joseph received a revelation that the twelve should return to England (D&C 118). Here’s a summary of their work from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism:

Departing in conditions of poverty and illness and trusting in the promises of God that all would be well with them and their families, most of the members of the Twelve made their way in various groups to Liverpool. By April 1840, they were together for the first time as a quorum in a foreign land. On April 14, 1840, in Preston, they ordained Willard Richards an apostle and sustained Brigham Young as “standing president” of their quorum. They held a general conference the next day in which they conducted Church business and further organized the mission. On the 16th they met again as a quorum and further planned their work. On the next day, they separated to various assigned geographical areas: Brigham Young and Willard Richards were to assist Wilford Woodruff with the work he had already begun among the United Brethren in Herefordshire; Heber C. Kimball was to return to the areas of his 1837-1838 missionary successes; Parley P. Pratt was to establish a mission home and publishing concern in Manchester; Orson Pratt was assigned to Scotland, where the work had already begun; John Taylor was to go to Liverpool, Ireland, and the Isle of Man; and George A. Smith was assigned to the area of the Staffordshire potteries. In time, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith would extend their work to London.

As a result of this mission, an additional 4,000 converts joined the Church by 1841.

I bolded Parley Pratt because he started the Millennial Star. The first issue was published in May 1840. Beginning with the second issue, Elder Pratt reprinted Oliver’s eight historical letters as a continuing series under the title “A Remarkable Vision.”

Letter VII was published in volume 6, October 1840. We can’t tell how much of a role the letters played in the success of the mission, but popular demand for the letters led to them being printed in a special pamphlet in 1844. The introduction says, “We have frequently been solicited to publish, in pamphlet form, the following letters of Oliver Cowdery…” Thousands of copies were printed.

You can read the pamphlet here.

You can read the Millennial Star on google books here.

It’s interesting that Elder Pratt offered evidence to support the Book of Mormon. In addition to Oliver’s letters, he made comments such as this one on p. 117, after quoting 3 Nephi 10.

If any further proof of the truth of the Book of Mormon were wanting than the spirit of inspiration and truth which is breathed into the soul of every honest man as he reads the blessed volume, he might easily find it in the ruins of cities, towns, military roads, forts, fortifications, mounds, artificial caves, temples, statues, monuments, obelisks, hieroglyphics, sculptured altars, aqueducts, and an endless variety of articles of husbandry, cooking utensils, &c. &c. which are the product of some ancient race, who inhabited that land, and who had risen to a high state of refinement in the arts and sciences, as the relics of their labours prove—as they now lie scattered over a vast extent of North and South America, either on the surface, or buried beneath by the convulsions of nature, or the visitations of the Most High, as recorded in the fore-going extract; and which are frequently discovered and brought to light by antiquarian travellers.

Pratt followed those comments with an article about the travels of Stephens and Catherwood in Central America. Then he wrote, “For further testimony and proof positive of the Book of Mormon, we copy the following [the Testimony of Three Witnesses].

My take on all of this is that Elder Pratt accepted and endorsed Oliver’s letters, including Letter VII. There was no question that Cumorah was in New York. Pratt suggested that ruins through the entire Western hemisphere were evidence to support the Book of Mormon, but he proposed it in a generalized way.

There is a definite contrast between the specificity of Letter VII, based as it was on the personal experience of Joseph and Oliver in Mormon’s depository of Nephite records, and the generalized claim that evidence of advanced civilizations in ancient North and South America. Here are some of the excerpts from Letter VII as published in the 1840 Millennial Star.

President Nelson has asked us all to prepare for General Conference. “What does that look like? You may wish to begin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price….  It is your personal preparation that will help April’s general conference become for you not only memorable but unforgettable. The time to act is now.“

“Reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account” of all of his experiences is an ideal way not only to prepare for General Conference but to understand the Restoration so we can all fulfill what President Nelson encouraged us to do. “God is trusting us, all of us, to play an important role in the Restoration of His gospel.”

But if you “read afresh” Joseph Smith’s accounts, you will discover that much of what he taught is missing from the M2C-inspired materials we see today. 

In his message, President Nelson quoted from the Wentworth letter. Another part of that letter provided the titles for the Saints books about Church history (discussed below): “the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.”

We can all agree with Joseph’s promise that “no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.”

But what about hallowed hands?

Today, we’ll look at some of the ways in which the M2C triumvirate and their followers have managed to throw Joseph Smith under the bus.

[Note: there are several embedded links in this article if you’d like more information.]
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First, some brief history for context. Then we’ll look at specific examples of throwing Joseph under the bus.

When the triumvirate set up F.A.R.M.S. at BYU in 1980, the group had a significant obstacle.

Committed to the M2C theory that the “real Cumorah” was in southern Mexico, they had to find a way to persuade Church members that the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah.

However, just two years before, in the October 1978 General Conference, Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had reaffirmed what prior prophets had consistently taught about the New York Cumorah.

Moroni’s father was commander of the armies of this ancient people, known as Nephites. His name was Mormon. The war of which we speak took place here in America some four hundred years after Christ. (See Morm. 6.)

As the fighting neared its end, Mormon gathered the remnant of his forces about a hill which they called Cumorah, located in what is now the western part of the state of New York.

Their enemies, known as Lamanites, came against them on this hill….

When finished with the record, Moroni was to hide it up in that same Hill Cumorah which was their battlefield. It would come forth in modern times as the Book of Mormon, named after Moroni’s father, the historian who compiled it….

So this is the message of Moroni. He came back from the dead to deliver it—in these modern times.


His people were Americans, too. His words constituted a people-to-people message, ancient Americans speaking to modern Americans.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1978/10/the-last-words-of-moroni?lang=eng

Three years previously, President Marion G. Romney had also testified about the New York Cumorah in the October 1975 General Conference.

In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation.

This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites’.
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How did the triumvirate overcome the teachings of the prophets, which stood as an obstacle to M2C?

They employed the academic cycle. 

The wikipedia article on F.A.R.M.S. frames it this way:

Scholars, such as John L. Sorenson, say that the publications of FARMS represented a new trend within Mormonism: the emergence of progressive forms of Mormon orthodoxy. While its scholars are committed to literal interpretations of Mormon faith claims, they are willing to rethink traditional understandings of those claims. For example, FARMS has published a limited geography model for the Book of Mormon. This suggests that the events chronicled in the Book of Mormon occurred in a much smaller region than the traditional understanding, which argues the same events occurred across the entire Western hemisphere.

The conflation of a “hemispheric model” with the New York Cumorah is a red herring. The prophets always taught two things: The Hill Cumorah is in New York, and we don’t know where the rest of the events took place. Some leaders (but never Joseph Smith nor Oliver Cowdery) speculated about a hemispheric setting, but it was never taught as a fact the way the New York Cumorah has been.

[Key point: Joseph did identify specific burial sites in the Midwestern U.S. as Jaredite and Nephite, respectively, a topic we’ll discuss below.]

I was a student at BYU in the 1970s. They put me in an “Honors” program, apparently because I was a National Merit semifinalist (the only LDS and only boy from my high school in Arizona).

Brother Sorenson taught a group of us about anthropology and the Book of Mormon, focusing on Mesoamerica with the “progressive” slant. I didn’t realize it then, but in retrospect I realize I was being groomed to trust the scholars instead of the prophets.

I was a willing subject, of course. I was enthralled with the Mesoamerican setting. Years later a friend of mine was an archaeologist who did a peer review of Brother Sorenson’s early draft of what became An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon. I still have a copy of that draft around here somewhere.

Like most LDS students today, I was dazzled by the credentials, confidence, and erudition of the M2C scholars. I was completely convinced by the M2C triumvirate, and F.A.R.M.S. in general, that they were right and the prophets were wrong.

Thanks to the academic cycle, M2C progressed right through the Church as we students entered the workforce and used our resources and abilities to further the work of the Restoration. We became leaders at various levels of the Church. We went out with the missionaries, we taught the youth, and we discussed all of these things with anyone who was interested.

Brother Sorenson published two articles in the Ensign about Mesoamerica. F.A.R.M.S. published numerous books, newsletters, and articles promoting M2C. Faculty at BYU and in CES taught it explicitly.

There was a bit of a setback in 1990. A ward member from Oklahoma wrote to President Hinckley, inquiring about the Hill Cumorah. Presumably he was trying to reconcile M2C with what he had always been taught.

In response, the Office of the First Presidency wrote this, dated October 16, 1990:

Dear Bishop ___: l have been asked to forward to you for acknowledgment and handling the enclosed copy of a letter to President Gordon B. Hinckley from Ronnie Sparks of your ward. Brother Sparks inquired about the location of the Hill Cumorah mentioned in the Book of Mormon, where the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites took place. The Church has long maintained, as attested to by references in the writings of General Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as referenced in the Book of Mormon. The Brethren appreciate your assistance in responding to this inquiry, and asked that you convey to Brother Sparks their commendation for his gospel study.  
Sincerely yours,

F. Michael Watson
Secretary to the First Presidency

The letter had been personally approved by each member of the First Presidency, consisting of Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson, with their personal stamps, before it was sent out.

Obviously, it was a personal letter not intended for widespread dissemination, but it is a simple statement of fact, easily verified by consulting conference reports and other materials.

Yet it didn’t slow down F.A.R.M.S. or the triumvirate at all.

In 1991, Brother Welch became Editor-in-Chief of BYU Studies. From then until the present, the journal has promoted M2C, featuring the map I posted yesterday and lots of M2C articles, book reviews, etc.

Numerous Ensign covers and other artwork depict M2C. Even the North Visitors Center on Temple Square teaches M2C.

Over the years, there were occasional setbacks, such as the “shake-up” at the Mormon Studies Review, reported here:
https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=54358137&itype=CMSID, and the eventual destruction of F.A.R.M.S., discussed here:
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/enigmaticmirror/2015/09/08/how-byu-destroyed-ancient-book-of-mormon-studies/

Despite the ups and downs, M2C has successfully indoctrinated millions of Latter-day Saints, few of whom even know what the prophets have taught on this subject.
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Here are some examples of what the M2C academic cycle has produced as M2C followers have assumed various responsibilities in the Church.

1. Joseph Smith Lesson Manual. Remember the Wentworth letter from the beginning of this post? President Nelson quoted it in his message. The Saints books are named after phrases from the letter.

You can find the Wentworth letter in the lesson manual titled Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-38?lang=eng

If you go there, you will see that Church employees edited Joseph’s words to omit (censor) material that contradicts M2C.

Original letter in blue (with the omitted portions in red): 

“Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.

“In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His Resurrection;“

Because the employees deleted this important passage, very few members of the Church today know what Joseph Smith taught. 

True, you can find the original version of the Wentworth letter in the Joseph Smith Papers or in another (English) source, but the lesson manual is the principal source of Joseph’s teachings for most members of the Church. It has been translated into most of the languages in the Church, including Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, German, etc.

Church members speaking those languages have no other source for the Wentworth letter than this edited and censored source!

You might ask, how did M2C influence this censorship? In two ways.

First, the statement bolded above–The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country–teaches that the Indians in the United States are the descendants of Lehi. This is consistent with D&C 28, 30 and 32. It is consistent with everything Joseph told those Indian tribes directly about their ancestors. But it isn’t consistent with M2C because the Indians in the northeastern U.S. differ genetically from the indigenous tribes of Latin America (which includes Mesoamerica).

Second, the manual was published about the time when the DNA controversy surfaced. DNA demonstrates that the indigenous inhabitants of Latin America have Asian ancestry. (We’ll save the discussion of DNA for another time.) Obviously, that discovery contradicted the claim that all the indigenous people of Latin America were Lamanites.

IOW, the manual omitted Joseph Smith’s teachings because M2C-believing employees thought that science contradicted Joseph’s teachings.

But as we just saw, the Indians Joseph identified as Lamanites–the Indians the Lord identified as Lamanites in D&C 28, 30 and 32–are distinct genetically from the indigenous people in Latin America.

It turns out that Joseph’s teaching here was prophetic. At the time, no one knew there were two distinct ancient civilizations in what is now the United States. People knew there were mounds everywhere; hundreds of thousands of them were raided for treasure and plowed up for farmland. 

It wasn’t until decades later that archaeologists and anthropologists determined there were two distinct civilizations. The older one, now called Adena, corresponds with Jaredite time frames. The less old one, now called Hopewell, corresponds with Nephite time frames.

Furthermore, on other occasions Joseph Smith personally identified burial ruins of what we now know as Hopewell as Nephites. He also personally identified burial ruins of what we now know as Adena as Jaredites.

To reiterate: long before archaeologists did, Joseph Smith distinguished between the two civilizations that lived anciently in what is now the Central and Eastern United States, and he specifically identified their bones as Jaredite and Nephite/Lamanite.

He taught this concisely and clearly in the Wentworth letter, but few Church members know it because the M2C censors edited Joseph’s teachings out of the manual.

2. Saints book, volume 1.

By now, readers here are familiar with the censorship of Cumorah from the Saints book, volume 1.

The historians have admitted they changed Church history to accommodate modern concepts of historicity and geography, a euphemism for M2C. I’ve discussed all of this here:

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-historians-explain-censorship-in.html

The censorship of Cumorah is not the only M2C-driven change to Church history. I’ve described others in that blog, such as the fake story that it was Moroni who showed the plates to Mary Whitmer (It was one of the Three Nephites, and he called himself Nephi. Presumably this is the same Nephi who met with Joseph Smith numerous times, another topic for another day.)

Like the Joseph Smith manual, Saints has been translated into dozens of languages and is the only practical source of Church history for current and future generations.

Within a few years, no members of the Church will know anything about what the prophets have taught regarding the Hill Cumorah, except the historians and M2C scholars who have already censored it everywhere they can.

Well, there is an exception.

Many members of the Church learn what the prophets have taught from critics such as the CES Letter, Mormon Stories, the Tanners, various Christian ministries, etc.

Imagine being a youth, missionary, or ordinary member of the Church and learning for the first time from a critic of the Church what the prophets have taught about the New York Cumorah. Not exactly a faith-promoting scenario.

It’s difficult to see how teaching “revisionist” Church history that omits these teachings because the M2C scholars disagree with them is preferable to teaching and embracing these teachings.

3. Saints book, volume 2. 

As I’ve pointed out, volume 2 of Saints is much better than volume 1.

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2019/06/saints-volume-2-looks-great.html

However, there are obvious omissions driven by M2C that people should be aware of. I’ve discussed a couple here:

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2020/04/saints-vol-2-omitting-cumorah-from.html

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2020/04/saints-vol-2-omitting-cumorah-from-jfs.html
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Long-time readers here know there are many other examples, including the fantasy maps used by BYU and CES.

We haven’t even discussed SITH (stone-in-the-hat) and all the ramifications of that. We now have faithful scholars in the Church teaching that Joseph Smith didn’t translate the plates. They say he didn’t even use the plates. Others claim he used both the Urim and Thummim and the SITH, a claim that is unsupported by the sources. Still others support SITH by changing the meaning of the words Joseph used.

Of course, the SITH narrative contradicts the consistent and persistent teachings of the prophets over decades, just like M2C does.

I’ll summarize the SITH issue with a table from my latest book, A Man That Can Translate:

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We’ll continue this series next week, but in the meantime, I hope everyone takes the advice of President Nelson to read afresh the accounts of Joseph Smith.

Notice: President Nelson did not encourage us to read the commentaries. He did not encourage us to read scholarly interpretations.

He encouraged us to read the originals.

The originals contain the “good information” that leads to “good inspiration.”

Read the account in the Pearl of Great Price (Joseph Smith–History). 

[Whatever you do, don’t get distracted by the Gospel Topics Essay on Translation of the Book of Mormon that omits most of what Joseph said on the topic, including the relevant passages from Joseph Smith–History.

Read what Joseph wrote in the Wentworth letter. 

[Just don’t read the version in the manual. Read the original, entire and unedited (as Joseph specifically requested).]

You can still find a complete version in an old Ensign, here:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/07/the-wentworth-letter?lang=eng

For the earliest detailed history of Joseph’s experiences, read the eight essays he helped Oliver Cowdery write. You can find them in the Times and Seasons, the Messenger and Advocate, the Improvement Era, the Gospel Reflector, the Prophet, and the Millennial Star.

Notice: you won’t find them in the Ensign. Yet.

But it’s probably easiest to read them right in Joseph’s own history, starting here:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/48

Although they didn’t discuss the First Vision in these essays, they did discuss the events leading up to Moroni’s first visit through the restoration of the Priesthood, providing important details that are unfamiliar to many Church members.
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1. Some people wonder how a discussion of M2C (the Mesoamerican/two Cumorahs theory) is good preparation for the upcoming General Conference. I’ll address that specifically tomorrow, but we’re discussing this topic within the framework of President Nelson’s teaching that “good inspiration is based upon good information.”

2. Our focus on the M2C triumvirate is the opposite of an ad hominem argument. The M2C triumvirate are each exemplary scholars and members of the Church. This is a discussion of ideas and priorities, not individuals. We are focusing on the intellectual genealogy of M2C and the thinking errors that enable it to persist today. This involves the origins of M2C and the techniques used to perpetuate it.

3. Finally, the discussion involves the treatment of the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah (i.e., that the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6 is in western New York). We distinguish between M2C and M. It is the 2C element that repudiates the teachings of the prophets. M is an open question.

The same prophets who have taught the New York Cumorah (NY1C) have also said that beyond Cumorah (Mormon 6:6), we don’t know where other events took place. That is really the only viable position to take at this point because there are thousands of sites that could relate to Book of Mormon history and geography.

[Note: the anonymous Gospel Topics Essay on Book of Mormon Geography conflates these two points, a logical and factual error that should be corrected, but the error could be attributed to the essay’s complete avoidance of the Cumorah question.]
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A key point: facts don’t matter. If you have ever tried to persuade people to change their minds by presenting facts, you know it doesn’t work. That’s why we are not trying to persuade anyone of anything. We seek only to help people discover “good information” and detect “bad information” so they can make their own informed decisions.

People believe they have their own facts that are better than yours. If they realize their facts fall short, they change the subject. Hundreds of thousands of LDS missionaries have experienced this directly.

That’s why the critical dynamic is your starting point. Whatever your initial premise, you can find facts that support it. If you support the prophets, you find facts that corroborate their teachings. If you disregard the prophets in favor of scholars, you find facts that corroborate the scholarly theories.

It’s really that simple.

Knowing this, the M2C triumvirate and their followers have focused on LDS students. An LDS youth cannot get through Primary, Seminary, Sunday School, Institute, or BYU without being indoctrinated into M2C.

For M2C advocates, this is a feature, not a bug. But many former LDS members made the mistake of conflating M2C with the Church’s position, and when they see the errors of M2C, they lose their faith–just as the prophets have warned.

We think it strengthens faithful members to vindicate the teachings of the prophets instead of repudiating those teachings.
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The M2C triumvirate and their RLDS predecessors developed 2C because of M; i.e., they (i) assumed Mesoamerica was the setting, (ii) then decided that the New York Cumorah was too far away, and (iii) then decided that the prophets were wrong about NY1C.

Those of us who accept NY1C instead take the opposite approach. We assume the prophets were correct about the New York Cumorah and proceed from there.

[At this point, ask yourself, what assumption do you start with?]
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As we’ve discussed, M2C originated with scholars from the RLDS Church in the late 1800s. These RLDS scholars developed a map of Book of Mormon events that placed all the events in a limited geography of Mesoamerica, with Cumorah in southern Mexico near the Gulf of Mexico. This was the origin of M2C.

In April 1917, an RLDS scholar of the Book of Mormon (named L.E. Hills) published a map that depicted M2C.

LDS leaders opposed M2C. When the Church purchased the Hill Cumorah in western New York in 1923, President Ivins (2nd Counselor in the First Presidency) devoted an entire address in General Conference to the importance of the New York Cumorah as the repository of Nephite records in that area (Mormon 6:6).

Hills’ location of Cumorah

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, then an Apostle and Church Historian, rejected the 2C element as we saw yesterday.

He warned that the “two Cumorahs” theory would cause members of the Church to become confused and disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.

The prescience of that warning is obvious today. But that doesn’t matter to the M2C scholars.

Books published by the Church such as Jesus the Christ, The Articles of Faith, and A Marvelous Work and a Wonder spelled out the New York Cumorah. Prophets in General Conference reiterated it.

But that still didn’t matter to the M2C scholars. They taught their students that the prophets were merely expressing their own incorrect opinions. They still teach that today, right at BYU and in CES.

Why?

Because they found Hills’ M2C theory more appealing than the “private, incorrect opinions” of the prophets. 
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The M2C triumvirate developed their own version of Hills’ map.

This one has been promoted on the main page of BYU Studies for many years. You can see it here:
https://byustudies.byu.edu/charts/160-plausible-locations-mesoamerica-book-mormon-places

M2C triumvirate’s location of Cumorah

You can see that they moved their “Cumorah” some miles east of where Hills had put it. The M2C scholars have proposed several variations, but they all agree that the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah.

If you’re wondering why BYU Studies would promote an M2C map, there is an easy answer.

For decades the Editor-in-Chief of BYU Studies was Brother Jack Welch, a member of the M2C triumvirate.

BYU Studies has been one of the most effective tools used by the M2C triumvirate to promote M2C.

BTW, we can expect M2C promotion to continue under its current editor (as of January 2020), Brother Steven C. Harper. Brother Harper, a BYU Church History professor and a wonderful guy, was instrumental in the development and editing of the Saints series of books about Church history.

By now it is well known that Saints, Volume 1, deliberately created a false historical narrative to purge the New York Cumorah from Church history. Instead of presenting Church history from the perspective of the historical figures, the authors of Saints accommodated the modern M2C theory by censoring all mention of Cumorah from Volume 1.

This is one reason why most Church members today, and all future generations, will never learn what the prophets have taught about the New York Cumorah.
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For those members of the Church who still believe what the prophets have taught, it is puzzling why M2C has become so prevalent in the Church today. Because of the work of the M2C triumvirate, working through various channels including the academic cycle, M2C has become the de facto position of the Church, based on Church media, manuals and curriculum.

For example, BYU and CES applied the M2C interpretation of the text of the Book of Mormon–the interpretation behind the M2C maps depicted above–and created a fictional fantasy map to use in Book of Mormon classes.

Consequently, every active LDS youth is being taught to understand the Book of Mormon in a fictional setting that also teaches them that the prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah.

We’re told that some BYU faculty no longer believe the Book of Mormon is an authentic history. That’s an increasingly common belief, even among active LDS. None of this is a surprising result of teaching the Book of Mormon using fantasy maps, mingled with elements of Mayan culture.

People are free to believe whatever they want, of course. If you think L.E. Hills and the M2C triumvirate are correct, and the prophets are wrong, that’s fine.

But it should be just as fine with you that others think the prophets are correct and L.E. Hills and the M2C triumvirate are wrong.

[more]

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Joseph Fielding Smith.

“Within recent years there has arisen among certain students of the Book of Mormon a theory to the effect that within the period covered by the Book of Mormon, the Nephites and Lamanites were confined almost entirely within the borders of the territory comprising Central America and the southern portion of Mexico-the isthmus of Tehauntepec probably being the “narrow neck” of land spoken of in the Book of Mormon rather than the isthmus of Panama.

“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this 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.”

Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3:232–243.

BMC, the most prominent advocacy group for M2C, was founded by, and is currently operated by, followers of Dr. John Sorenson, who wrote this about the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah:

“There remain Latter-day Saints who insist that the final destruction of the Nephites took place in New York, but any such idea is manifestly absurd. Hundreds of thousands of Nephites traipsing across the Mississippi Valley to New York, pursued (why?) by hundred of thousands of Lamanites, is a scenario worthy only of a witless sci-fi movie, not of history.” 

Mormon’s Codex, p. 688.

Those involved with BMC are awesome, faithful Latter-day Saints whom I personally like and admire for their work, with the exception of their approach to the teachings of the prophets on this topic.

The simple answer is that the people who founded and currently manage BMC have been promoting M2C for decades. 41 years ago they founded FARMS, an organization that was abolished in 2010.

Many readers have no idea what FARMS is, so let’s discuss it.

BMC is managed by the founders of FARMS. They convinced themselves decades ago that the prophets were wrong about Cumorah and that M2C is the only viable explanation for the Book of Mormon.

To understand BMC, you need to understand FARMS,

Here’s an example from a 1979 paper. Notice how the theory is stated as a fact.

In 1984 the FARMS newsletter titled Insights explained why the logo incorporates a Mayan glyph:

WHAT DOES THE F.A.R.M.S. LOGO STAND FOR? Many people have asked what the F.A.R.M.S. logo means. Here is a brief explanation. The logo is composed of characters from Hebrew, Creek, Mayan and Egyptian, which are four of the main ancient languages and cultures relevant to Book of Mormon reseach [sic]. The characters are set in four stone blocks, symbolizing archaeology and ancient reseach [sic]. The Blocks are fit together like a puzzle. The Hebrew “aleph” in the upper left hand corner and the Greek “omega” in the lower right hand corner are the first and last letters of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets, standing for the “first and the last” (Isaiah 48:12), or the “Alpha and the Omega” (Rev. 1:17), who is Jesus Christ. The Mayan glyph is stylized, representing Mesoamerican studies. The Egyptian “Wd3t-eye” is the “whole-eye of the Sun-god Re” which was an ancient symbol of resurrection, since a myth told how the eye was torn to pieces and put back together. We have chosen this Egyptian hieroglyph because of an astonishing connection with the Book of Mormon, namely that the “pieces” of this eye were used by the Egyptians as mathematical symbols for their grain-measures. In other words, the tear duct was worth 1/64; the eye lash was 1/32; the left white of the eye was 1/16; the eyebrow was 1 /8; the pupil was 1 /4; and the right white of the eye was 1/2. The whole eye was one full measure. This binary fractional system is extremely reminiscent of the weights and measures of the Nephites in Alma 11. There a leah is half of a shilum, which is half of a shiblon. which is half of a senum, which is half of an amnor, etc. Moreover this Egyptian measurement system was used to weigh and convert amounts of barley, wheat and other grains into silver and gold, just as the Nephite system was used. See Alma 11:7. This is described more technically in the F.A.R.M.S. Preliminary Report, “Nephite Weights and Measures in the Time of Mosiah II.” In addition, the round pupil of this eye was also used by the Egyptians as the round outline of the hypocephali which they used in burials, of which Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham is an example.

THis

Pursuant to President Nelson’s counsel that “good inspiration is based upon good information,” it is important for every member of the Church to seek “good information.” Although many Church members seem to just want someone to tell them what to believe, seeking the truth is an individual responsibility that we cannot delegate to others, especially when the topic involves the Book of Mormon.

On this blog, we focus on the historicity and geography of the Book of Mormon as evidence of its divine authenticity.

No one needs any expertise to understand and believe the teachings of the prophets. This includes the clear, consistent and persistent teachings of the prophets about the New York Hill Cumorah.

Yet most Church members are ignorant of those teachings. Many of those who do know what the prophets have taught have nevertheless been persuaded to reject their teachings in favor of M2C (the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory). 

After all the debates about evidence, logic, history, geography, geology, anthropology, archaeology, metallurgy, language, etc., the ongoing influence of M2C boils down to three men: the M2C triumvirate.

On a personal level, I like all three of them. Each is a faithful, smart, productive and sincere member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We can learn a lot from their work. But that has no bearing on whether we should accept their theories and teachings.

These were the founders of F.A.R.M.S. in 1979, which taught M2C from its inception. Today they are the brains behind Book of Mormon Central (BMC).

Through various channels they have taught M2C to thousands of Church members for decades.

They are the drivers of the academic cycle, whereby young Latter-day Saints are taught to understand the Book of Mormon through the lens of M2C and then go on to teach M2C to their children, students, peers, etc. The academic cycle turns theories into unquestioned assumptions that many come to believe are “true.” Even when they contradict the teachings of the prophets.

Now the M2C triumvirate is raising and spending millions of dollars annually to promote M2C to the world through BMC, hiring fine young scholars and artists to spread the message that the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah.

All of that is fine. We’re each entitled to believe whatever we want. We can donate to whatever cause we think is important. No one is an “apostate” simply because his/her beliefs contradict someone else’s.

But we don’t have to accept the teachings of the scholars over the teachings of the prophets. 

Much of what the M2C triumvirate does (apart from M2C) is awesome and deserves our support. I have learned a lot from them and continue to use the resources provided by BMC and the rest of the M2C citation cartel. I wish I could support their work 100%, but I cannot, at least not as long as they continue to undermine the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah, without at least acknowledging those teachings and the evidence that supports the prophets.
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The approach of BMC can be summed up in the following quotation from Brother Sorenson. Recall the long list of prophets who have taught the New York Cumorah, summarized at this link.

There are many of us Latter-day Saints who still believe those teachings. We are not ignorant, uneducated, or naive. We have sought and found evidence from various sciences that corroborates the teachings of the prophets. Original Church history documents also support the prophets.

Now, read what Brother Sorenson says about us and the teachings of the prophets:

“There remain Latter-day Saints who insist that the final destruction of the Nephites took place in New York, but any such idea is manifestly absurd. Hundreds of thousands of Nephites traipsing across the Mississippi Valley to New York, pursued (why?) by hundreds of thousands of Lamanites, is a scenario worthy only of a witless sci-fi movie, not of history.”

John L. Sorenson, Mormon’s Codex (Deseret Book, 2013), p. 688.

Those who heed the words of the prophets know that Joseph Fielding Smith warned against M2C over a period of decades.

“Within recent years there has arisen among certain students of the Book of Mormon a theory to the effect that within the period covered by the Book of Mormon, the Nephites and Lamanites were confined almost entirely within the borders of the territory comprising Central America and the southern portion of Mexico-the isthmus of Tehauntepec probably being the “narrow neck” of land spoken of in the Book of Mormon rather than the isthmus of Panama.

“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this 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.”

Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3:232–243.

Other members of the First Presidency have reaffirmed the New York Cumorah in General Conference. But their teachings have been rejected by the M2C scholars, particularly by the M2C triumvirate.
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In upcoming posts, we’ll examine how the M2C triumvirate has adopted, refined, and promoted M2C over the years. It is a fascinating study that involves history, bias confirmation, cognitive dissonance, rhetoric, and more.

Setting aside personal prayer and revelation, most of us seek “good information” first from the scriptures, second from the prophets, third from original sources of Church history, data from the sciences, etc., and finally from teachers, experts, friends, the Internet, etc.

[Ask yourself, have you inverted this hierarchy of evidence?]

True, we can’t become experts in everything. For some topics, we necessarily rely on teachers and experts in various fields to introduce and guide us to their areas of expertise. They can help us find good information.

But they can also deflect us from good information.

Sometimes, good information is mingled with bad information. Sometimes the theories of men are mingled with scripture.

We trust teachers and experts to help us filter out irrelevant or incorrect material, but in many cases their biases instead cause them to filter out material that contradicts their own theories. If we’re too deferential (and lazy), we can easily be easily manipulated into accepting their theories without making informed decisions based on good information.

And some topics don’t require expertise, even when experts insist you need training for their ministry.

There is a long history behind M2C. It originated with scholars from the RLDS Church in the late 1800s. I’ve discussed this history before, such as here.

This week we’ll look at this history in more detail.
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Today, let’s look at the BMC logo.

I pointed out that this logo originated with F.A.R.M.S, which was founded in 1979. F.A.R.M.S. taught M2C from its inception. Tomorrow we’ll see why BMC is essentially a rebranded F.A.R.M.S. (as the logo makes clear).

You can read about F.A.R.M.S. on wikipedia here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Ancient_Research_and_Mormon_Studies

In 1984 the F.A.R.M.S. newsletter titled Insights
explained why the logo incorporates a Mayan glyph. You can see from this description how F.A.R.M.S. embraced M2C as a given from the outset.

WHAT DOES THE F.A.R.M.S. LOGO STAND FOR? Many people have asked what the F.A.R.M.S. logo means. Here is a brief explanation. The logo is composed of characters from Hebrew, Creek, Mayan and Egyptian, which are four of the main ancient languages and cultures relevant to Book of Mormon reseach [sic]. 

The characters are set in four stone blocks, symbolizing archaeology and ancient reseach [sic]. 

The Blocks are fit together like a puzzle. The Hebrew “aleph” in the upper left hand corner and the Greek “omega” in the lower right hand corner are the first and last letters of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets, standing for the “first and the last” (Isaiah 48:12), or the “Alpha and the Omega” (Rev. 1:17), who is Jesus Christ. 

The Mayan glyph is stylized, representing Mesoamerican studies. 

The Egyptian “Wd3t-eye” is the “whole-eye of the Sun-god Re” which was an ancient symbol of resurrection, since a myth told how the eye was torn to pieces and put back together. 

1- Here’s the URL to get full access to all of the (usually premium) church related videos and movies:

Today, March 26, is a significant anniversary in Church history because it was the date of the first notice of the publication and availability of the Book of Mormon. I blogged about that here:

http://www.lettervii.com/2020/03/march-26-1830-and-2020.html

First Vision

It’s also a significant date because the best evidence indicates that this was also the date of the First Vision. This article by John C. Lefgren summarizes the evidence.

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/oh-how-lovely-was-the-morning-sun-26-mar-1820-2/

There is a wonderful video of the evidence here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MsQ6QBMMY

And their web page is here:

https://march26th1820.com/

If you’re not already familiar with this project, today is a good day to learn about it.