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This post isn’t directly related to Book of Mormon geography issues, but you’ll see why it’s here tomorrow.

Last week we visited Temple Square with some out-of-town non-LDS friends. The North Visitors Center had been remodeled since the last time we were there, particularly the bottom level. We noticed this exhibit about Joseph Smith:

Look at the painting on the far right.

I wondered, “Does the designer of this exhibit not read the Ensign?”

In the October 2015 Ensign (see article here, although you have to download the .pdf to see the painting itself), this painting was discussed. Here’s what the article says on p. 55:

“Artist’s portrayal of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery working on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Unlike what is depicted here, Oliver Cowdery stated that he did not see the plates until after the translation was finished. Witnesses of the process reported that during the translation, the plates were shielded from view, such as by being covered with a linen cloth.” (Emphasis mine)

Part of page 55 from the Ensign

Pretty clear. This painting is not supported by any historical account. In fact, in this painting, Joseph isn’t even using a translator, whether a stone, urim and thummim, or anything else. (Note: the Ensign article is generating a lot of discussion about what actually happened, a topic for another day.)

Yet this incorrect painting is shown to the millions of people who visit Temple Square!

These three paintings are presumably part of a set, so for artistic purposes, maybe they go together. But why is the Visitors Center showing people a painting that not only is not supported by any historical account, but contradicts every account we have?

Fortunately, in this case, our visitors weren’t with us for this exhibit. I don’t like being in a position of explaining to non-members that exhibits in the Visitors Centers are wrong, but anyone who reads the Ensign (or the scriptures) knows this painting is misleading at best.

Is this painting on display because we don’t have a historically accurate painting of Joseph translating the plates? If so, I know of some artists who would be happy to remedy that problem.

Is it on display because we don’t want to show what our official Church magazine explains is the historical reality? I hope not.

Maybe you know of another reason why this painting is on display in the Visitors Center. If so, let me know. Mesomania is bad enough, but having historically inaccurate paintings in the most-visited Visitors Center in the Church is asking for confusion.

Sample dialog between M (me) and I (investigator) during a visit to Temple Square:

M: “Here are paintings showing Joseph’s story.”
I:   “What language were the plates written in?”
M: “Reformed Egyptian, apparently.”
I:   “Where did Joseph Smith learn Reformed Egyptian?”
M: “He didn’t.”
I:   “Then how is he reading the plates?”
M: “He had a translator. Moroni gave it to him with the plates.”
I:   “Where is it?”
M: “Moroni took it back when he retrieved the plates.”
I:   “No, I mean in this painting.”
M: “It’s not in there.”
I:   “But the scribe is writing.”
M: “I know. The painting is a mistake. It didn’t happen like this.”
I:   “Who is the scribe?”
M: “Oliver Cowdery.”
I:   “So he saw the plates? What about other people, like Joseph’s wife?”
M: “Actually, Oliver didn’t see the plates during the translation. They were covered with a cloth.”
I:   “But they’re sitting there on the table.”
M: “I know. The painting is a mistake. It didn’t happen like this.”
I:   “Why do you have a false painting on display?”
M: “I have no idea.”
I:   “I heard Mormons hide their history. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
M: “Uh, no. It’s all explained in the Ensign, our official magazine.”
I:   “You’re telling me you are not hiding your history, but you have a false painting of Joseph Smith translating the plates on display in your Visitors Centers, and I’m supposed to read your magazine to understand why the painting is false.”
M: “I guess so.”
I:   “What else in here is false?”
M: “Come over here. I’ll show you. But then let’s look at all the great stuff on giving service.”

To be continued…

You wouldn’t believe how much material I have for this blog. Even if the Mesoamerican advocates stopped publishing altogether, I have a couple of years’ worth of material already stacked up. But they continue to publish new stuff, and it’s awesome. Obviously I can’t cover everything, but sometimes, the material is so exquisite I can’t pass it up.*

Yesterday, Mesomania Magazine (sometimes called Meridian Magazine) published a classic KnoWhy about the serpents in Jaredite times. I had some fun with this one at one of my other blogs. In case you missed it, go here.

Throughout 2016, Mesomania Magazine has been publishing these daily items on Book of Mormon topics. When they’re not trying to foist Mesoamerica off onto members of the Church, they’re pretty good. But they whenever possible, they promote Mesomania. That’s why Mesomania Magazine republishes them.

It is not only Meridian that is completely devoted to Mesomania. So is Book of Mormon Central, the organization which generates these KnoWhys.

(For new readers, Book of Mormon Central is a front for the Ancient America Foundation, a long-time proponent of Mesoamerican theory. People have started referring to these daily entries as “no-wise” because of the contortions they go through to (i) cram the Book of Mormon into Mesoamerica and (ii) portray Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as confused speculators who misled the Church about Cumorah.)

All year, I’ve offered to give an alternative perspective on the daily KnoWhy, but Book of Mormon Central has refused because it doesn’t want its readers exposed to anything other than Mesomania. Book of Mormon Central purports to be a neutral scholarly site, but in reality it’s a full-blown, 100% proponent of the two-Cumorahs theory and the Mesoamerica setting for the Book of Mormon. Consequently, for a while I commented on the most egregious examples of Mesomania, but readers of this blog now know how to spot them, so I let several pass without comment.

Yesterday’s on serpents was just too absurd to ignore.

Today’s is almost as good, as I discuss below.
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Yesterday I also posted an observation about the burden of proof on the Cumorah issue. This was on my consensus blog, here.

Sorry to give you these links, but I’m trying to keep the blogs organized by theme.
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Today’s Mesomania KnoWhy appears in Mesomania Magazine here: http://ldsmag.com/why-did-riplakish-construct-a-beautiful-throne/This one pulls a fascinating sleight-of-hand you’ll enjoy.

If you recall, early in this blog I identified one reason for Mesomania. LDS scholars and educators have been using the Sorenson translation of the Book of Mormon instead of the translation provided by Joseph Smith. Today’s nowise is a great example of this.

Plus, it’s a nice example of the illusory “correspondences” we see in all the Mesomania-inspired interpretation of the text.

The no-wise starts out by accurately quoting Ether 10:6, “And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne.” But in no time, this is retranslated as a “stone” throne. It’s not even a subtle transition. Look at this paragraph:

Riplakish, the tenth Jaredite king, was a vain and wicked ruler who “did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne” (Ether 10:6).[1] While it is difficult to determine the exact timing, it is safe to say that this story about an extravagant throne dates to very early on in pre-Columbian America.[2] LDS archaeologist John E. Clark confirms that: “The earliest civilization in Mesoamerica is known for its elaborate stone thrones.”

Unless you’re reading through Mesomania lenses, the text says nothing about stone thrones. The Book of Mormon refers to a “throne” in 23 verses. Most of these are references to God’s throne or generic thrones of various leaders. Only two thrones are described with adjectives.

Riplakish’s throne in Ether 10:6 is “exceedingly beautiful.”

Noah’s throne in Mosiah 11:9 is part of the palace, described this way:
“And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.”

So we have a throne and palace made of fine wood and ornamented with precious metals, and a throne that is “exceedingly beautiful.”

That’s it.

But in the Sorenson translation, as explained in today’s no-wise, we have “thrones of stone… usually made out of a single, large, altar-like stone, ornamentally carved with three-dimensional depictions of the rulers themselves seated in cave-like openings… painted or otherwise adorned in ‘brilliant colors.'”

The text says the throne was “exceedingly beautiful” but in the Sorenson translation, we have instead a “massive,” “elaborate” throne that “depicted him as seated between the earth and the supernatural or divine realm.” Here’s what was involved with creating this throne: “The massive stones used to make these thrones and the Olmec’s colossal stone heads could weigh up to 40 tons, and were transported from as far as 90 km (about 56 miles).”

Not only that, but “To construct an ‘exceedingly beautiful throne’ required that Riplakish possess sufficient power to harness a massive labor force.”

Wow. Later, I’ll show what the text actually says about this “massive labor force,” but for now, let’s look at my favorite paragraph, the last one:

“The book of Ether’s overall portrayal of the construction of an elegant and elaborate throne very early in ancient American history is entirely correct, even though, as John E. Clark put it, “American prejudices against native tribes in Joseph’s day had no room for kings or their tyrannies.”21 This led Clark to ask, “How did Joseph Smith get this detail right?”22 However one wishes to answer that question, the study of early pre-Columbian thrones sheds considerable light on the story of Riplakish.”

This would all be well and good except Joseph (or Moroni, or Ether) forgot to mention that Riplakish’s throne was made out of stone. That’s the detail that the Sorenson translation provides, as explained in this no-wise.

IOW, the “entirely correct” portrayal comes from Sorenson, not the Book of Mormon text. 

And you have to admire the conversion of the simple phrase “he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne” into “Ether’s overall portrayal of the construction of an elegant and elaborate throne very early in ancient American history.”

There’s no better example of Mesomania than this (although there is an overabundance of examples).
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Now, regarding illusory correspondences.

I’m curious if there is any human society that did not feature a throne of some kind. Wikipedia notes that “Thrones were found throughout the canon of ancient furniture. The depiction of monarchs and deities as seated on chairs is a common topos in the iconography of the Ancient Near East.”

The very first chapter of the Book of Mormon mentions thrones twice (1 Nephi 1:8, 14). The Isaiah passages in 2 Nephi refer to the throne of God and the throne of David. In Mosiah, we read about Noah’s wooden throne. Additional thrones are mentioned in Alma and Ether.

I’ve pointed out before that the Mesomania-inspired arguments about correspondences follow this logic:

We’re seeing the same thing here with thrones.

Except for one important point: the evidence of stone thrones in Mesoamerica contradicts what the text says, at least about Noah’s wooden throne. 

Now, critics will say I shouldn’t conflate the thrones of Noah and Riplakish. I’ll address that below, but first, think about this. If you were Ether, or Moroni, how would you describe a stone throne that looked like the one depicted in the no-wise here:

What terms come to mind?

Massive? Definitely.
Colossal? Sure.
Elegant and elaborate? Maybe, but that’s a stretch.

But “exceedingly beautiful?”
No way.
No way in a million years.

The no-wise itself says “Such thrones were usually made out of a single, large, altar-like stone, ornamentally carved with three-dimensional depictions of the rulers themselves seated in cave-like openings.”

These Olmec “thrones of stone” were built for 350 years, according to the no-wise. Maybe some were painted, but of all the thrones mentioned in Ether, only this was “exceedingly beautiful.” If you have Mesomania, it was more beautiful than all the similar thrones built over 350 years (or more).

It was exceptional.

What would Ether, or Moroni, find beautiful about such a stone throne? Would it be the image of Riplakish? Some other pagan depiction? Difficult to imagine. But it’s not just beautiful, it’s exceedingly beautiful. Something even Ether, or Moroni, would admire, despite the fact that Riplakish “did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord.”

The text tells us.

It was the “fine work.”

The throne is described in Ether 10:6, but look at Ether 10:7. “Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to be refined in prison; and all manner of fine workmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison.”

This is actually another link between the thrones of Noah and Riplakish.

Mosiah 11:10: “10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.”

So here, in the only two description of thrones in the entire Book of Mormon, we have two kings having their subjects produce “fine work.”

In fact, the text refers to “fine work” only four times, all within the same passages that describes the thrones of Noah and Riplakish:

Mosiah 11:8
8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;

Mosiah 11:10
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.

Ether 10:7
7 Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to be refined in prison; and all manner of fine workmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass that he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations.

Ether 10:23
23 And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass, and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth; wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work.

Is it really unreasonable to infer from the Ether passages that the “fine work” related back to the “exceedingly beautiful” throne?

As used in the text, “fine work” involves wood and precious metals, all in connection with the only two thrones described in the text.

But according to the Sorenson translation, Joseph made a mistake. He should have explained that these were actually stone thrones, because… because Mesomania.

I suppose we can excuse Joseph for this oversight. After all, he made an even bigger mistake, because the Hill Cumorah is in southern Mexico, right?
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The most appalling aspect of these Mesomania no-wise is not that Mesomania Magazine republishes them under the url “ldsmag.com” right next to faith-sustaining articles on other topics, but that LDS scholars and educators continue to perpetuate the false narrative that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery misled the Church on such a fundamental question as the location of Cumorah. 

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*Obviously, if LDS scholars and educators ever decided to jettison their two-Cumorah theory to return to what the prophets and apostles have always said about Cumorah, I’d stop writing about this topic.

We’re happy to announce we’ve come up with another No-Wise you should read. Meridian Magazine re-published it here: http://ldsmag.com/why-did-snakes-infest-jaredite-lands-during-a-famine/

It’s one of our best ones yet. You’ll be impressed that we managed to bring up volcanoes again! This time it’s in connection with the Jaredites. You see, birds won’t fly away in times of drought. No, it’s better if volcanoes kill them.

That makes a lot more sense, because there are volcanoes in Mesoamerica. See, we even showed a map of volcanoes in Mesoamerica to prove the volcanoes killed the birds, which let snakes reproduce wildly, etc., etc.

Now, check out our awesome Jaredite serpents map. See how easy it is for snakes to set up a 120-mile wide roadblock through the jungle? Exactly how the Book of Ether describes it.

Complete with the volcanoes the Jaredites constantly contended with.

We actually cited an article from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a city located on the Susquehanna River, as evidence that the serpents in Ether 9 were in Mesoamerica!

Pretty sweet, huh?

Here’s what the articles says: “The hot, dry summer has drawn an unusual number of rattlesnakes out of their mountain lairs and into the valleys.”

The article includes a photo of a rattler with this caption: “A venomous Timber Rattlesnake shown here from Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland is common to this area.”

But that’s in Pennsylvania, and we obviously don’t want to show a map of Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, some careful readers might notice.

Therefore, we have to provide a

**Trigger warning.**

Hopefully you haven’t read Moroni’s America, but if you have, we need to warn you that we’re going to address the ridiculous ideas in that book so you know we’re not coming anywhere near it. We’re continuing to censor any reference to it on this web page, except to warn you about anyone who perpetuates the false tradition started by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery about the New York Hill Cumorah.

You’ll recall that, according to the ideas in Moroni’s America, the Susquehanna River leads directly to the small neck of land. Which is not far from the hill Ramah, which the Nephites called Cumorah. But we know that hill is in southern Mexico, and we would have cited an article from Mexico if we could have found one, but the one in Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River, is the best one we could find. Don’t infer from this citation that we think there are poisonous serpents in North America near the false tradition of Cumorah.

Here’s a related map that we wouldn’t want our followers to see, so keep it to yourselves.

You also recall that according to Moroni’s America, the Jaredite lands were north of the land of Zarahemla, which made Zarahemla the land southward to the Jaredites. This map shows the historcial range of poisonous serpents exactly where Moroni’s America says they would be, and they block the passage to the south. 

But because we know Moroni’s America is based on that false tradition started by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, if anyone questions you about this, just explain that LDS scholars, including the Council of Springville, have determined that there is less than a 2% chance that Moroni’s America has any validity.

In other words, anyone who tells you that Cumorah is in New York is lying, even if they’re in the First Presidency and they say it in General Conference. 

Because we should trust the scholars, not the prophets and apostles.

You also recall that according to Moroni’s America, the rivers function as borders between the land northward and southward. Never fear. We apologize to you, our readers, but we had to acknowledge the biological reality that snakes would stop at a river border. “If a river or otherwise wet habitat lay between the Jaredites and the land southward, then a large population of snakes would settle there and “hedge up the way” to the land southward.”

Don’t be concerned, though. We just mentioned this as a possibility. We’re not saying rivers actually were borders in the Book of Mormon.

Now, repeat after us the Springville Creed:

Never doubt us.
The Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica,
Cumorah is in southern Mexico, and anyone who says otherwise is perpetuating a false tradition.

Because we’re scholars.

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Here’s the Pennsylvania article in its entirety in case that link doesn’t work.

August 18, 2005 

A venomous Timber Rattlesnake shown here from Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland is common to this area. Photo by Michael Bavero/The Daily Item

Heat and drought bringing
snakes out of their dens

---

By Eric Mayes
The Daily Item

---

HARRISBURG — The hot, dry summer has drawn an unusual number of rattlesnakes out of their mountain lairs and into the valleys.

“Because of habitat fragmentation, they are not found in most areas of the state,” he said. “They are looking for heavily wooded areas or rock fields for denning and basking sights. They rely on heat from the sun and radiant heat the rocks provide.” 

I trust that by now, readers recognize how pervasive Mesomania is, but for new readers, I’ll point out another example.

The December 2016 Ensign has an excellent article about Helaman’s stripling warriors. Here’s the accompanying illustration:

We have the same high mountains with waterfalls. The same palm trees. The same guy leaning on a staff. The same bare-chested men with the short skirts and bands around the waist.

None of which is mentioned in the text. As I’ve pointed out, the text doesn’t describe mountains until you get to Helaman, and then it’s only in connection with hills–like the Missouri mountains referred to in the Doctrine and Covenants.

As I said, as art, this is wonderful material. But as illustrations of the Book of Mormon, it is highly misleading and, in my opinion, destructive of faith because it is teaching the two-Cumorahs theory.

In fact, I think it’s false advertising. Imagine you’re an investigator in Sri Lanka or Nigeria or Russia. You see these illustrations. Then you read the text and don’t find a single mention of such a setting. You wonder, how could Alma hide in a thicket of small trees in the midst of a Mayan jungle? You ask where these events took place, and the missionaries have no answer.

Or, worse, if they’ve been reading what LDS scholars write, the missionaries tell you that the Book of Mormon took place in Central America and Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were confused and wrong when they said Cumorah was in New York.

And then you realize the illustration reinforces what the missionaries are telling you.

On the one hand, the missionaries are telling you Joseph and Oliver were reliable witnesses and accurately reported what happened. On the other hand, they’re telling you Joseph and Oliver were confused and wrong and misled the entire Church about where Cumorah was. Or, as today’s scholars put it, Joseph and Oliver perpetuated a “false tradition.”

If you have any access to the Internet and any curiosity at all, you soon discover that’s exactly the same argument that anti-Mormons make.

Granted, most investigators (and most members) don’t think this through. But the ones who do have serious problems with the idea that Joseph and Oliver misled the Church. And the source of confusion is LDS scholars, not the prophets and apostles who have spoken about Cumorah.

So I ask, why are we still using illustrations inspired by Mesomania?

As long as we’re on the topic, here’s another example.

Thousands of people visit the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and view these Friberg paintings inspired by Mesomania. Fortunately, they include the one showing Mormon and Moroni, together, on the Hill Cumorah in New York. Unfortunately, that painting has been deleted from the Missionary and Foreign Editions of the Book of Mormon. It was replaced by the painting of Moroni, alone, burying the plates. That switch epitomizes the two-Cumorahs theory.

Now, finally, look at this wonderful painting of Mormon at age 10, by the same artist who did the painting in this month’s Ensign:

It’s also a fine illustration, but notice how it is derivative of Arnold Friberg’s painting.

Again, we have the ubiquitous stepped pyramid with the central staircase and the temple on top that all the Mesoamerican advocacy groups have adopted in their logos, but which are never mentioned in the text. Plus we have the steep, tall mountains that the text never describes.

That’s Mesomania.

That quotation comes from “C.S. Lewis: An examined life” (2007).* It’s a wonderful metaphor. So long as we continue to inquire, we can find the truth.

As we finish up the Book of Mormon in our Gospel Doctrine classes for 2017, I wanted to comment a bit on Lesson 46: By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled.

Years ago I memorized all of Ether 12. It’s still one of my favorite chapters. I’d put it up there with Mormon 7 (the single most important chapter in the scriptures, IMO), Alma 12 and 32, John 21, and D&C 88.

Here is the purpose of Lesson 46: 

Purpose

I have three general comments.

First, I hope everyone who accepts the Book of Mormon and the counsel of the prophets understands the reason why Joseph and Oliver specifically identified the location of the Hill Cumorah. Certainly they didn’t have to. Joseph and his successors also didn’t have to republish Letter VII (Seven) so many times. But I think they had prophetic insight and they knew the historicity of the Book of Mormon would be questioned in the future. Maybe it requires a little faith and humility to accept what Joseph and Oliver wrote, but they were clear and unambiguous. There is nothing more damaging to faith than to have LDS scholars and educators undermine the reliability and credibility of Joseph and Oliver, and I hope they stop it soon.

Second, one of the reasons why it’s important to be unified about Cumorah is the portion of the lesson manual that focuses on Ether 13:1-12. “Moroni records Ether’s prophecies concerning the promised land.” The manual summarizes the teachings here: “Before the Second Coming, “a new Jerusalem should be built up upon this land [the Americas]” (Ether 13:6). The New Jerusalem will be a holy city built by a remnant of the house of Joseph (Ether 13:8).” It’s essential to know where the promised land is because of the covenants associated with it, as Ether spelled them out.

By now, readers of this blog will detect the bit of Mesomania there. The bracketed phrase [the Americas] is a nonscriptural gloss on the passage designed to accommodate a non-New York Cumorah. I realize some will say I’m reading too much into it, but if you’ve read as much of the work of the Mesoamerican proponents as I have, you’d recognize it to.

In the early days of the Church, members who read the Book of Mormon wanted to know where the New Jerusalem was going to be. They knew Cumorah was in New York, but they had to flee New York for Ohio. In Kirtland in February 1831, the Lord promised he would reveal the site for the New Jerusalem “in mine own due time.” (D&C 42:62). In March, the Lord told them the New Jerusalem would be in “the western countries” (D&C 45:64-66). Then, on September 22, 1832, on the anniversary of the date when Joseph received the plates both times, the Lord revealed that the New Jerusalem would be in western Missouri.

Ether, observing the final battles in New York, “saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.” He knew that “a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph.” And now Joseph Smith learned that the place would be western Missouri. 

When Ether spoke of “this land,” he was referring to the area encompassed by Cumorah, where he was writing, and the New Jerusalem. We learn from Joseph and Oliver that this is the land between New York and Missouri–exactly the land inhabited by the Jaredites and the Nephites. It’s all spelled out for us.

Third, I like to think of Ether and Coriantumr. They knew each other well. After teaching Coriantumr’s people about the promised land and the New Jerusalem, he told Ether that he would live to see “another people receiving the land for their inheritance.” Coriantumr would be buried by them. Of course, this was fulfilled when Coriantumr “was discovered by the people of Zarahemla,” as recorded in Omni. 

I envision this happening when Coriantumr, as the last survivor, decided to travel to the New Jerusalem. Naturally he would have traveled down the rivers toward the west on his way to what we now call Missouri, but on the way, the people in the Land of Zarahema found him. I’ve described all of this in Mormoni’s America. 
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As we study these passages in the text and think about them, I hope we appreciate what Ether was trying to tell us, and why Moroni selected these passages to include in the record.
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*There’s a list of Lewis quotations at 
http://www.deseretnews.com/top/817/0/Top-100-CS-Lewis-quotes-.html

[NOTE: I cross-posted this at my Gospel Doctrine blog, here.]