Category: Uncategorized

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How to create some doctrine

I’m offering this post in the spirit of “let’s get real.” I’m observing historical reality here. I’m not criticizing anyone because, as I’ve emphasized for a while now, I don’t blame anyone for Mesomania. That said, we can’t fix mistakes if we don’t identify and acknowledge them.

On my Mesomania blog, I’ve started a series looking at the techniques that are being used to perpetuate and promote the Meosamerican theory. Some of that is technical and maybe too detailed for most readers, so I wanted to call your attention to an important point I touched on there.

Let me start by observing that you can’t make this stuff up.

For many years, Mesoamerican proponents have cited a 1993 fax from “the office of the First Presidency” to support their two-Cumorahs theory. You can still see it being used on FairMormon here. I included a copy of the fax at the end of this post.

This is FairMormon’s quotation from the fax:

The Church emphasizes the doctrinal and historical value of the Book of Mormon, not its geography. While some Latter-day Saints have looked for possible locations and explanations [for Book of Mormon geography] because the New York Hill Cumorah does not readily fit the Book of Mormon description of Cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the Book of Mormon text and any specific site.
—Fax from the Office of the First Presidency to FARMS, April 12, 1993.

If you want to get more detail on the background, I put a link to the FairMormon page at the end of this post.
________________

In at least one commentary, Mesoamerican proponents represent this as a letter coming from the office of the First Presidency.

It turns out, this 1993 fax was sent by a secretary and consists of nothing more than a plagiarized rewording of a 1992 article in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism (EOM) titled “Cumorah.” 

That article, in turn, was written by David A.Palmer, author of In Search of Cumorah. In Search of Cumorah is an extensive justification for the two-Cumorah theory that doesn’t even mention Letter VII, let alone discuss it. It’s an awesome piece of work that I’ve discussed on this blog before and is featured in one of my videos. Plus, it is cited repeatedly in Meso literature, including in An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, Mormon’s Codex and Traditions of the Fathers, as the go-to explanation for why Cumorah cannot be in New York and is actually in southern Mexico. (Well, one of the go-to references; the others are the articles by John Clark that I’ve also addressed).

You can see the EOM article on Cumorah here: http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Cumorah
or here: http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/EoM/id/4391/show/5649.

Now, compare the language of the fax to the article:

Fax: While some Latter-day Saints have looked for possible locations and explanations [for Book of Mormon geography] because the New York Hill Cumorah does not readily fit the Book of Mormon description of Cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the Book of Mormon text and any specific site.

Palmer: Because the New York site does not readily fit the Book of Mormon description of Book of Mormon geography, some Latter-day Saints have looked for other possible explanations and locations, including Mesoamerica. Although some have identified possible sites that may seem to fit better (Palmer), there are no conclusive connections between the Book of Mormon text and any specific site that has been suggested.

The “fax” is just a plagiarized rewording of Palmer’s article, which predates the fax. 

Here is what the Palmer article looks like when it is edited to become the fax from the First Presidency. 


You just have to move Palmer’s first sentence to the middle, change and delete a few words, and voila, you’ve created an important announcement from the First Presidency that refutes Letter VII and endorses the two-Cumorah theory!

Even better: you have the First Presidency endorsing David Palmer’s theory in Palmer’s own words!

By citing the “office of the First Presidency,” FairMormon implies that Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson reworded Palmer’s article and faxed it to FARMS. 

While it’s possible the First Presidency reworded Palmer’s article and faxed it to FARMS to refute Letter VII and support the two-Cumorahs theory, does anyone really believe that? 

[NOTE: If it turns out that the First Presidency actually did plagiarize the EOM article and send it to FARMS for this purpose, I’ll readily edit this post to so indicate here.]
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I’ve been criticized by some LDS scholars for using the term “citation cartel,” but this is such a beautiful example I’ll go through it step-by-step. 

1. David Palmer writes his book justifying the two-Cumorahs theory. 
2. His book is cited by several Mesoamerican proponents, including some of the most prominent books that promote the Mesoamerican theory, such as An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (Deseret Book and FARMS), Mormon’s Codex (Deseret Book and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship) and Traditions of the Fathers (Greg Kofford Books).
3. Palmer he gets the job to write the Cumorah entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, in which he cites his own book as authority. 
4. Then a staffer from in the Office of the First Presidency plagiarizes the article by rewording it a little and faxes it to FARMS. 
5. FARMS then uses it to sow doubt about the New York Cumorah. 
6. FairMormon puts it on their web page to give an implied endorsement by the First Presidency of the two-Cumorah theory.
7. All the usual suspects endorse the Palmer material, including FARMS, FairMormon, BMAF, and Book of Mormon Central.

It’s a wonder to behold how the citation cartel works, for sure, but this is what passes for LDS scholarship about Mesoamerica.

As far as I can tell, not a single LDS scholar or educator has objected to this methodology before. 

It is this behavior that led me to the only explanation that makes sense to me: the psychology of Mesomania.

Also known as confirmation bias.
_________________

The fax:

  Link to FairMormon for more background:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Question:_Did_the_First_Presidency_identify_the_New_York_%22Hill_Cumorah%22_as_the_site_of_the_Nephite_final_battles%3F


Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Why now?

The intellectual history of Book of Mormon geography reflects about 100 years of intense study and debate, including the development and perpetuation of the two-Cumorahs theory and all that flows from that. Why is it only now, in 2016, that the issue is being resolved?

You can probably think of other reasons, but I boil them down to two main categories: supply and demand. I’ll take them in reverse order; i.e., first I’ll look at the demand for more information/clarity, then I’ll look at the supply of more information/clarity.

1. Urgency (demand). Like many Latter-day Saints, I feel a sense of urgency about this issue. You probably do too. We’re all concerned about the ongoing confusion that the two-Cumorahs theory sows among the Saints and among investigators. I guestimate that about 90% of active LDS accept pretty much whatever they’re told about the topic; i.e., their primary, Sunday School, seminary, Institute or BYU teacher (or parents) told them the Book of Mormon took place in Central America, using Church-approved artwork, so they accept it and move on without questioning.

Around 10% question what they’re told and don’t believe it for any of a number of reasons.

(BTW, I think Letter VII would reverse these numbers, if it were widely known. The number of people who would question the Mesoamerican theory after reading Letter VII in the context of teachings of the modern prophets and apostles would approach 90%, which explains why the scholars and educators have suppressed Letter VII, as I’ve shown in my video series.)

Another reason for urgency is the societal trend toward empiricism and away from faith. In the early days of the Church, missionaries used the Bible to prove the Book of Mormon because most people believed the Bible. Now, hardly anyone believes the Bible, so that approach doesn’t work. Instead, it will be the unique divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon that proves the Bible. That’s the topic of a book I’m working on, but I can’t publish until we LDS get our act together and agree on the historicity and geography of the Book of Mormon.

Yet another reason is the Internet, as the following scenarios illustrate. These are typical of what happens thousands of times on a regular basis.

Imagine you’re not LDS and missionaries come to your door. They tell you about the Book of Mormon. You’ve heard about it, but don’t know much about it. They leave you with the missionary edition. You thumb through the illustrations. You see Alma baptizing in a mountainous, jungle wilderness. You see Samuel preaching from the top of an enormous Mayan stone wall. You see Christ appearing to Mayans among Mayan ruins (with Chichen Itza in the background). You don’t know much about ancient history, but you did learn about Mayans, and maybe you’ve visited Cancun, so you get the picture. You actually visited Chichen Itza and you’re curious about the connection with those ruins and the Book of Mormon.

Then you start reading. 1 Nephi starts out interesting, with the family fleeing Jerusalem, but then it gets into a weird apocalyptic vision. Next are long quotation from Isaiah. You wonder where the Mayans are.

You get on the Internet and in 30 seconds, you find out the Mormons actually have no idea where the Book of Mormon events took place. Web pages explain that the first Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, said the Hill Cumorah was in New York, but the LDS scholars now say he was confused and didn’t know what he was talking about. You discover that, despite the illustrations in the book the missionaries gave you, the text actually says nothing about Mayans, pyramids, or jungles. The web pages claim the Mormons can’t even agree among themselves about the geography because the work is fiction written by Joseph Smith and others.

The missionaries call to confirm the next appointment and, because they’re such nice, idealistic kids and you don’t want to hurt their feelings, you tell them you don’t have time to see them right now. They call a few more times, and you finally tell them you’re not interested.

Imagine you’re a missionary, and you regularly run into former Mormons and well-prepared Christians who tell you the Book of Mormon is fiction. They tell you you’re wasting your time, and they refer you to the Internet to see for yourself. You don’t take their advice at first, but after months of this, you and your companion decide you need to be prepared for the objections you keep encountering.

You look up FairMormon.

You find out that the anti-Mormon literature is correct.

FairMormon and the LDS scholars cited there do actually say Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Fielding Smith, etc. were speculating, didn’t know what they were talking about, and were wrong. You remember what your seminary, Institute, and BYU teachers told you about Mesoamerica and now you realize for the first time that theory contradicts what Joseph, Oliver and the others said.

You read Letter VII and you’re shocked you were never told about this before. You always thought it was far-fetched to believe Moroni hauled the heavy plates and other artifacts to New York from southern Mexico, but you accepted it on faith. Letter VII makes a lot more sense, but it contradicts everything your Church teachers have told you. You start to wonder: if they were wrong about the Hill Cumorah, what else were they wrong about? Soon you question everything your teachers told you. You still don’t have answers for the antagonistic people you meet every day; in fact, you have more questions than answers.

You tell your companions about Letter VII. Some agree it’s a problem, but most think you’re an apostate for even reading something like that. Your Mission President gets angry when you ask about it and doesn’t answer your questions. He says your teachers were right, and whatever this Letter VII is, it’s not approved by the Church.

You return home and make excuses for missing Church meetings and before you know it, you’re no longer active in the Church.
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These are just two of any number of similar scenarios that happen all the time, all around the world.

Hence, the sense of urgency. It’s time for us to get our act together and stop promoting theories of geography that contradict Joseph and Oliver and the other prophets and apostles.
________________

2. More evidence (supply). The Joseph Smith Papers project has brought many things to light that were previously unknown. I’ve been following the geography debates for over 40 years. Not once did anyone tell me Joseph Smith had his scribes copy Letter VII into his own history as part of his story. (Not that anyone mentioned Letter VII at all–it has been suppressed from every Church history resource I had access to, not to mention FARMS, FairMormon, and the rest. It was available in the Times and Seasons, a set of which I purchased when I was in my 20s, but I didn’t realize that.)

Thanks to the Joseph Smith Papers, we can trace all the Church history I described in The Lost City of Zarahemla, Brought to Light, and The Editors: Joseph, William, and Don Carlos Smith. I couldn’t have written those books without the Joseph Smith Papers as a resource.

The newly accessible historical data has helped us distinguish between what Joseph actually taught and what was merely attributed to him. That, in turn, has eliminated much of the confusion about the issue.

[See my comments on sowing confusion here.]

We also have more evidence than ever before in terms of archaeology, anthropology, geography, and geology. More is coming out all the time. For example, just three weeks ago an important discovery was made about a Hopewell (Nephite) mound complex (details to come).

In a real sense, faith precedes the miracle here. IMO, as more and more LDS refocus on what Joseph, Oliver (and other latter-day prophets and apostles) have said, instead of relying on the scholars and educators who reject them, even more evidence will come forward.

Understanding the Mesomania issue helps with this process, as well. We don’t blame anyone for perpetuating the Mesoamerican and other non-NewYork-Cumorah theories. We understand the intellectual history and the psychology involved. Nothing about this is personal.

But we seek clarity and all the new evidence explains things pretty well.

– Yes, Oliver Cowdery did unequivocally state in Letter VII that the Hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:6) was in New York.
– Yes, Joseph did assist in writing these historical letters, had them copied into his own history, and approved their republication.
– Yes, every other statement that can be directly attributed to Joseph supported Letter VII.
– Yes, Oliver did tell Brigham Young about the records repository in the Hill Cumorah.
– No, Joseph didn’t write unattributed articles in the Times and Seasons, so we can throw those out.
– No, it’s not possible, feasible (or even a good idea) to concoct an abstract map using the text without reference to Cumorah as a pin in the map because such an effort is inherently subjective and depends on subjective interpretations of every term used in the text.
– No, Joseph and Oliver were not merely speculating. Nor were all the other Latter-day prophets and apostles who have spoken about the New York Cumorah.

This is merely an overview of the growing supply of solid information.

Hence, the need to get our act together and stop promoting theories of geography that contradict the evidence, along with Joseph and Oliver and the other prophets and apostles.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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We Aren’t God’s Only People

There’s an awesome article on the splash page of lds.org right now at this link:

https://www.lds.org/blog/advice-for-the-younger-missionary-me-we-arent-gods-only-people?cid=HP_TH_27-10-2016_dOCS_fBLOG_xLIDyL2-3_

The author, Samuel B. Hislop, writes about “cultivating “holy envy” for other faiths,” noting the contributions of other faiths to our understanding of God. He writes,

“My life’s journey has directed my gaze outward to learn from the leaders and followers of other faiths. I’ve come to appreciate what Swedish theologian Krister Stendahl (1921–2008) called “holy envy”—the ability to admire elements and teachings in other faiths. Our fellow believers see things differently and don’t express their views in the same way we do, and I often find great value in this.”

I highly recommend the article. It led me to a thought relevant to Book of Mormon consensus.
____________________

Brother Hislop quotes this:

“When we see virtuous qualities in men, we should always acknowledge them, let their understanding be what it may in relation to creeds and doctrine; for all men are, or ought to be free. … This doctrine I do most heartily subscribe to and practice” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 345–46).

Those pages are in the chapter in the manual titled “Living with Others in Peace and Harmony.” You can find it here. It is an extract from a letter Joseph wrote to Gen. James Arlington Bennet. Eliza R.Snow copied the letter into Joseph’s journal. The citation is History of the Church, 5:156, which you can find here. Or, you can read the original source in the Joseph Smith Papers, here.

[Historical note: For those interested in Church history, the link to JSP starts with the famous objection by Gen. James Arlington Bennet to the name of the other Nauvoo newspaper, the Wasp. Bennet wrote, “Mildness should characterise every thing that comes from Nauvoo…” Then he adds, “My respects to your brother its Editor.” Those of you who have read The Lost City of Zarahemla know how this is important.]
________________________

Here is the entire section of Joseph’s letter to Gen. Bennet, dated September 8th, 1842:

You speak also of Elder Lucian Foster, President of the Church in New-York, in high terms: and of Dr. John Bernhisel of New-York. These men I am acquainted with by information; and it warms my heart, to know that you speak well of them; and as you say, could be willing to associate with them forever, if you never joined their church, or acknowledged their faith. 

This is a good principle; for when we see virtuous qualities in men, we should always acknowledge them, let their understanding be what it may in relation to creeds and doctrine; for all men are, or ought to be free; possessing unalienable rights, and the high, and noble qualifications of the laws of nature and of self-preservation; to think, and act, and say as they please; while they maintain a due respect to the rights and privileges of all other creatures; infringing upon none. 

This doctrine I do most heartily subscribe to, and practice; the testimony of mean men, to the contrary, notwithstanding. But Sir, I will assure you, that my soul soars far above all the mean and grovelling dispositions of men that are dispos’d to abuse me and my character; I therefore shall not dwell upon that subject.

In relation to those men you speak of, referred to above; I will only say that there are thousands of such men in this church; who, if a man is found worthy to associate with, will call down the envy of a mean world, because of their high and noble demeanor; and it is with unspeakable delight that I contemplate them as my friends & brethren. I love them with a perfect love; and I hope they love me, and have no reason to doubt but they do.
__________________________

I hope this is the spirit in which we all view one another as we work through the various issues related to Book of Mormon historicity/geography and, one day, reach a consensus that will enable us to flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon like never before.

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

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A thought experiment

A lot of people, not just LDS scholars and educators but ordinary members of the Church, are emotionally attached to their ideas about Book of Mormon geography. I empathize because I felt the same way for decades about the Mesoamerican theory.

So here’s a thought experiment to consider.
First, set aside your preconceptions. Thought experiments don’t work if our minds are cluttered. We need to start with a blank slate.
Second, pretend for a moment that Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith knew that the Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6 was the same hill where Joseph obtained the plates; i.e., the hill in New York near his home. 
Maybe they knew because they had visited Mormon’s records repository in the hill, as they told Brigham Young and others.
Maybe they knew because Moroni told them. 
Or maybe they had a revelation about it. After all, they were both apostles. Joseph was President and Oliver Assistant President of the Church. They didn’t record everything they knew, as we know from Joseph Smith-History, 1:73-4:
 73 Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when, standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this Church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.
 74 Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. 
__________________
Continuing with this thought experiment, if Cumorah is in New York, does the rest of the description in the text fit?
Step 3 in the experiment is to see if you can work it out.
Again, throw out all your preconceptions and re-read the text.
I realize that because of Mesomania it’s nearly impossible to jettison the maps and illustrations you’ve seen your whole life, but try. 
You might be surprised at what you discover.
__________________
The irony of this thought experiment is that it shouldn’t really be an experiment at all. Latter-day Saints believe everything Joseph and Oliver told us except for what they wrote in Letter VII. We write entire books about one-off statements recorded in someone’s journal, such as the “most correct book” comment that wasn’t even a quotation. 
But unlike these one-off statements, Oliver’s letters, including Letter VII, have been republished multiple times. LDS scholars and educators accept everything in them except what they wrote about the Hill Cumorah.
If you know the explanation for that, you’ll figure this out soon enough.
___________________
One stumbling block for some scholars is that Joseph didn’t identify the hill as Cumorah in Joseph Smith-History. There’s a good reason why he might have chosen not to, but the objection assumes Joseph wrote the history in the first place.
He did not.
At most, he read it. We don’t even know if he made corrections to it, but we assume he approved it on some level.
See if you can think of a reason or two he might not have named the hill in that history.

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

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In their own words

I think most members of the Church don’t know what LDS scholars are actually teaching.

We’re about to rectify that.
Starting today, my youtube channel features two series. One is titled “In Their Own Words” that shows you exactly what is being taught. The other is “How to find Mesomania in…” that shows you how to assess the various scholarly sources on the Internet.
It’s an eye-opener, for sure.
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Thanks to Mesomania, nearly every member of the Church has had Meosamerica imprinted on his/her mind from childhood. The Arnold Friberg paintings are a big part of this, but the Mesoamerican theory has been taught from Primary through Institute. It’s what is still being taught at BYU campuses, albeit not as overtly as in the past. Mesomania has even been featured in the Ensign.
This is not the fault of the thousands of faithful, diligent teachers in the Church. For starters, none of them have been taught about what Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery actually wrote about the Hill Cumorah in Letter VII.
Go to lds.org and google “Letter VII” and you’ll see what I mean.
[You’ll get one result from the August 1990 Ensign in connection with Oliver Cowdery’s discussion of Moroni’s visit. You have to go to the bottom of the article and click on “Show references” to see it. It’s in footnote 4, and it’s a reference to the Messenger and Advocate. Unless you know how to do Church history research (and I show you how on youtube, here), you’ll never find the original. But you can search for “Letter VII” in the Joseph Smith papers and read it directly from Joseph’s own history!]
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For whatever reason, LDS scholars and CES staff have successfully conveyed a false impression that the Church endorses a Mesoamerican setting, to the point that when faithful members of the Church want to discuss a North American setting, they are silenced, shunned, and ridiculed.
This behavior is unacceptable.
I’m going to provide some “ammunition” for those who are being treated this way.
If Mesoamerican advocates want to promote their ideas, fine. But they need to be up front in what they’re really teaching, and they need to stop treating alternative perspectives–especially the statements of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith–as if they are apostate.
In fact, I favor more exposure of the Mesoamerican position. I’d like everyone in the Church to compare the North American setting to the Mesoamerican setting. That’s why I put a comparison table in my book, Mesomania. And on my consensus blog, here.
I think most members of the Church will be shocked to discover what has been going on for the last few decades in the academic realm of Book of Mormon geography.
It’s not just that so many LDS scholars and CES staff have explicitly rejected Joseph Fielding Smith’s views on this issue. I’m all in favor of academic freedom; people can believe and teach whatever they want.
But anyone who teaches in the Church has a very serious responsibility. Anyone who teaches the Book of Mormon and doesn’t at least inform students about Letter VII, IMO, is doing the students a disservice.
Aside from the suppression of that important Church history, it is where the two-Cumorahs theories are leading the teachers–and their students–that is the more serious problem.
___________________
 In addition to many websites, here are some of the books and articles we’re going to go through.

___________________

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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CES and Mesomania

There’s a long post about CES on my Mesomania blog here. I point out that there is a lingering problem of Mesomania in the CES program that I hope can be rectified soon–and quickly.

I make three specific suggestions to CES that I hope will be considered.

Those of you who work for CES, let me know what you think. 

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Thoughts on contention

The topic of Book of Mormon geography can raise differences among people. Let’s take it as a given that most people say they want to avoid contention, argument, debate, etc. This applies to their work, family, church, recreation, and other activities.

Jude describes what we should contend for:

Jude 1:3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

That’s the kind of contention that I’ve tried to conduct on this blog, my other blogs, and my articles and books.

Then there is another kind of contention that I seek to avoid:

3 Nephi 11:29-30
For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
________________________

Based on these and other passages, IMO it is important to contend for the faith and what is right, but it’s just as important to do so without anger. 

Readers of this blog know that I think it’s fun to have these exchanges. It’s definitely frustrating that this whole thing about Cumorah not being in New York has gone on for so long, perpetuated by LDS scholars and educators, but there’s no reason to get angry about it.

What’s done is done.

It’s up to us to take the initiative to fix it, all without anger. .

So when I write a piece titled “Fun with…” I mean that. There’s no anger. We can all enjoy the discussion and hopefully move toward the day when we’ll all see eye-to-eye.

And we can focus on the meaning of the text and it’s origin, making us all better people.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon

In October 1988, President Benson gave the famous address titled “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon.” Here’s a link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/flooding-the-earth-with-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

It’s hard to believe that was 28 years ago. A lot of progress has been made, for sure. But there remain obstacles.

Among other things, he said,

“I challenge all of us to prayerfully consider steps that we can personally take to bring this new witness for Christ more fully into our own lives and into a world that so desperately needs it.”

Many members of the Church are doing their part to make this happen. I believe the LDS scholars and educators are doing their part in many ways, but there is an enormous impediment, IMO. It’s one I’ve had to deal with for years.

By continuing to promote the Mesoamerican setting (or an abstract setting), LDS scholars and educators are causing members to become confused and disturbed in their faith. 

For many people, the message of the Book of Mormon is powerful enough to overcome this confusion. But for others, the confusion distracts from that message and leads to the loss of faith we’ve been warned about.

I don’t see how we can realize the vision President Benson set forth as long as our scholars and educators insist our prophets and apostles are wrong about something as basic as the Hill Cumorah in New York.

It’s not that geography, by itself, is the stumbling block. Instead, the problem is the inconsistency of claiming to support the prophets and apostles, while also saying their firm, consistent, declarative statements on this issue, spanning over 150 years, are wrong.

Mesomania causes confusion to every investigator who sees the artwork depicting jungles, Mayans, and stone pyramids, and then reads the text only to discover none of these things are in there. It’s the disparity between raised expectations and reality that impedes acceptance of the Book of Mormon. That same disparity leads once faithful members to question, and in too many cases, lose their faith.

IMO, we won’t be flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon until we reach unity in understanding it, which means reaching unity in supporting what the prophets and apostles have said from the beginning about the location of Cumorah.

Cumorah was important enough for Mormon and Moroni to mention it by name. It’s the touchstone between the ancient past and the here and now. It’s the pin in the map that tells us the location of the promised land, the covenant nation, the Lamanites whose promises are yet to be fulfilled, and so much more.

I urge all LDS scholars and educators, as well as students, to reconsider your views on this point. If you don’t accept the New York location of Cumorah, ask yourself why not. Then ask yourself again. And again.

The answer might surprise you.

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus