Monday, February 27, 2017

Visual Map of Alma 22:27-34 and Other Scriptural References – Part II: The Mountains

Approximations of the locations of the three North American theories involving the present-day area of the United States: LtoR; Great Lakes; Heartland; and the Eastern U.S. Land of Promise theory locations
The visual map of the South American Land of Promise was shown in the preceding post, Part I, and here we continue with the height of mountains in the Heartland, Great Lakes and Eastern U.S. Land of Promise theory locations:
    The Lord put it in the heart of Samuel, the Lamanite, to prophecy at the time of Christ’s death, that during the three hour period following, mountains would tumble and fall forming valleys, and valleys would raise up and become mountains, whose height is great!
The Lord put it in the heart of Samuel the Lamanite what to say,and so important was the message that the Lord caused the stones and arrows directed at him by an angry crowd to miss him so he could complete the message
 Whose height is great,” is a statement of fact, not just an idea or catchy phrase. Nephi, in his vision of the Land of Promise at the time of the crucifixion, acknowledged all the damage and changes, even the mountains that they existed in the land “tumbling into pieces” (1 Nephi 12:4). Now what is meant by “whose height is great”? Would that mean small hills, low mountains, those that are hardly noticed? Or would it mean mountains that are so tall and numerous that all within the Land of Promise could readily identify their sudden existence and that it was the sign Samuel prophesied?
    In North America, in the United States, the tallest single mountain is Mt. Whitney, at 14,505-feet; the tallest ranges are the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, of which Mt. Whitney is a part; then comes the Rocky Mountains, with Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet, which is within the Sawatch Range in Colorado, which also has eight of the twenty highest peaks (8 over 14,000-feet, 6 more over 13,000-feet) in the Rockies, 2 over 12,000-feet and 2 over 11,000-feet). Gannett Peak in Wyoming is 13,804-feet; Wheeler Peak in New Mexico is 13,161-feet; Mt. Humphreys in Arizona is 12,633-feet and the highest point in Arizona and the Kachina Peaks. Borah Peak in Idaho is 12,662-feet; Granite Peak in Montana is 12,799-feet.
    In addition, the following states are outside the area of David McKane’s Land of Promise:
New York – 5344-feet (Mt. Marcy and Adirondack Mountains)
Vermont 4393-feet
Kansas – 4039-feet
Massachusetts – 3487-feet
Connecticut – 2380-feet
    None of the above are within the land considered to be the Land of Promise by Heartland, Great Lakes, or Eastern U.S. theorists.
Differing heights of the various mountains or top elevations of the lands considered by theorists in the U.S. and Mesoamerica Land of Promise locations as compared to those mountains in the Andes of South America

   By comparison the highest point east of the Mississippi is Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina:
North Carolina – 6684-feet
Tennessee – 6643-feet
Virginia 5729-feet
Nebraska – 5424-feet
*New York – 5344-feet (Mt. Marcy)
Maine – 5267-feet
West Virginia – 4861-feet
Georgia – 4784-feet
South Carolina 3560-feet
Maryland 3360-feet
Pennsylvania – 3213-feet
Arkansas – 2753-feet
Alabama – 2413-feet
Minnesota – 2301-feet
Michigan – 1979-feet
Wisconsin – 1951-feet
New Jersey – 1803-feet
Missouri – 1772-feet
Iowa – 1670-feet
Ohio – 1549-feet
Indiana – 1237-feet
Illinois – 1257-feet
Rhode Island – 812-feet
Mississippi – 806-feet
Delaware – 448 feet
District of Columbia – 410-feet
Florida – 345-feet
    Now, to reiterate, the six states that David McKane claims make up the Land of Zaraahemla and the Land of Bountiful (Nephite lands), the highest area is 1979 feet in Michigan (Land of Bountiful)—and the three main states of the Land of Zarahemla, the highest point is 1549-feet):
The comparison between the highest point in all of the Eastern U.S. is only 6684-feet, which would be in McKane's Land of Nephi; but in his Land of Bountiful, only 1979-feet, and in his Land of Zarahemla, only 1772-feet--none of these figures could be considered "whose height is great" to the Lord; however, Andean South America at 22,841 would be considered not only by the Lord, but by anyone as "whose height is great"
 
Michigan – 1979-feet
Missouri – 1772-feet
Iowa – 1670-feet
Ohio – 1549-feet
Indiana – 1237-feet
Illinois – 1257-feet
    Thus, one of the simplest tests of David McKane’s Land of Promise, the mountains “whose height is great” manages an elevation for the entire state of no higher than 1549-feet. How anyone can claim such a location is so far beyond my imagination I cannot fathom the ignorance (lack of knowledge) involved.
    For a comparison of the Andes Mountains and their height:
• There are 72 mountains over 20,000-feet
• 170 mountains between 18,000 and 20,000, or 242 mountains over 18,000 feet in height
• 490 mountains between 14,511 to 18,000 feet.
    This means in the Andes there are 732 mountains taller than the tallest in the United States, the shortest of these Andes is still 7,827 feet taller than the highest mountain in the eastern U.S. within the land claimed by David McKane as his Land of Promise (and that is North Carolina), and 16,490 feet taller than the highest mountain within McKane’s Land of Zarahemla and Bountiful.
    Now David McKane tells us in answer to where is his mountains, that: “There are three major mountain ranges in New York: the Adirondack Mountains, the Catskill Mountains, and part of the Appalachian Mountains. Mountain ranges in Tennessee Blue Ridge Mountains‎, Great Smoky Mountains‎. Mountain ranges of Missouri Ozarks‎, St. Francois Mountains‎ , U.S. Interior Highlands‎.
    As stated earlier, the highest point in the Adirondacks (Catskills) is Mt. Marcy at 5343 feet, and is the highest point in New York state, but is not in the area of McKane's Land of Promise Land Southward (Land of Bountiful, Land of Zarahemla, or Land of Nephi, and is even outside the area of McKane’s east wilderness beyond the Sea East. Blue Ridge is Mt. Mitchell at 6684 feet (not in Tennessee, but in North Carolina) which is far east of McKane’s Land of Nephi. Great Smoky Mountains is Clingmans Dome (in Tennessee) in the heart of McKane’s Land of Nephi. The Missouri Ozarks is Taum Sauk Mountain (in the St. Francois Mountains) at 1772 feet, but this is in the southwest part of the state, out of the area of McKane’s Land Southward. As for the U.S. Highlands, they are in Oklahoma and Arkansas and southern Missouri, all areas outside McKane’s Land of Promise—even so, the highest points are in the Boston Mountains at 2,560 feet.
    Obviously, we are not talking here about mountains “whose height is great,” or anything even remotely close to it, which by definition, should disqualify McKane's location for the Land of Promise in the eastern U.S. Of course, it will not, because theorists like McKane simply ignore those areas of their beliefs and models that do not agree with the scriptural record and Mormon's descriptions of the Land of Promise.

1 comment:

  1. Del the Book of Mormon never states that the Nephites lived in the mountains. The nephites mentions plains between their cities not mountain ranges. They raised cattle horses goats wheat and barley. Hard to raise those animal and grains in the Andes mountains.

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