Continuing with the
article that one of our readers sent in several points regarding someone else’s view
of developing an internal model and asked us what we thought of it. The first eleven
points were answered in the previous two posts, following the article changes
direction and discussed other areas within the Land of Promise:
1.
“Can any ruins in Mesoamerica be linked
to Book of Mormon cities? So far, no ruins have been linked to Book of Mormon
cities. There are over 4,000 registered archaeological sites in
Mesoamerica. Many of these date after the Book of Mormon times. The
current estimate is that fewer than 10% to 25% of the archaeological sites have
been found.”
Response: Here we see
the colors of the writer of the article. He is interested in and promotes
Mesoamerica, though acknowledging nothing has been found there to link the Book
of Mormon.
2. “To give you an idea of just how many
archaeological sites there are, surveyors, when they put a permanent survey
marker in the ground, try (or are required) to put the marker in undisturbed
ground (meaning that there was no previous population that lived or used that
land, so there is little chance the marker will be removed due to further use
or archaeological digging). Surveyors in Mesoamerica have trouble
finding spots to put their markers because almost all of the ground in
Mesoamerica shows some sign of previous use.”
Response: Most areas
that were once occupied at any time in history would show some sign of previous
use.
3. “Studies have indicated that over half of
the archaeological sites that have been uncovered have been vandalized, many to
the point where it would be unlikely or impossible to determine any link to any
Book of Mormon cities or to get any useful archaeological information from
these sites at all. In addition, when a population lives in a place, they
eventually replace the infrastructure, thus any population that came after the
Nephites and lived in their cities, would, over the course of time, remove
most things that could be used to identify that place with a Book of Mormon
city.”
Response: No matter
how bare an area is of artifacts, no matter how much change later populations
incur, there is no way to say that this city or that city was Zarahemla, Nephi,
Bountiful or Moroni, just from archaeological work, since there is almost no
description included in the scriptural record that would allow us to say that
was the Book of Mormon city. Pottery showing llamas, as an example show up in
Andean Peru, but that doesn’t link anything to the Book of Mormon, for there is
no mention of pottery or other artifacts in the record to compare anything
against. Even pottery of horses, elephants, chariots, etc., though some of us
might appreciate that supportive evidence, no one else would consider it a
proof of the Book of Mormon lands or people. Metallurgy has been found in Peru
and Ecuador dating into B.C. times showing a remarkable amount of skill, but no
one sees that as proof of Nephite occupation. When the Spanish arrived in the
Andean area, they were astonished at the skill of the silk textiles they found
there, yet no one sees that as proof of the Book of Mormon, not even fellow LDS
that champion Mesoamerica. On the other hand, on at least one occasion, we know
that a city in the scriptural record contained a tower of some height. It was
high enough to see into distant lands (Mosiah 19:6), and was situated near the
temple (Mosiah 19:5), and we might conclude that it was easily accessible (not
a wodden ladder) that Noah could get upon it faster than someone pursuing him (Mosiah
19:5-6). Interestingly enough, such a tower was found by the Spanish in Cuzco,
next to the temple, 4 or 5 stories high, made of stone, with a stone stairwell,
that was upon a hill overlooking the valley and two distant land areas that led
into the valley. It’s location in the land in comparison to the First Landing
site and the city of Zarahemla, as well as the narrow neck of land and the Land
Northward, also meets the requirement of the Book of Mormon. Yet, though it matches
the record precisely and verified by the Spanish when they arrived, no one sees
that as proof of the Book of Mormon.
4. “It will be very
difficult to link any known archaeological site with a Book of Mormon city.”
Response: It will be
very difficult since the Book of Mormon Land of Promise was not located in
Mesoamerica, or anywhere in Central America or North America, where people are
looking for some type of link. It will not only be very difficult, it will be
impossible.
5. “This is one reason archaeologists look for
trash piles. No one moves trash. They are the best places to look
for what happened at the site over the course of time.”
Response: No one is
going to find evidence of the Book of Mormon in a trash site. Unless something
shows up in the trash pile that reads: “Lehi slept here” or “This was the City
of Nephi” or “Nephite troops camped here,” what kind of evidence is going to
ever show a Book of Mormon connection more than already exists in the Western
Hemisphere? After all, the scriptural record; speaks of temples, palaces,
synagogues, stone walls, fortifications, and resorts, all of which have been
found in Andean Peru; it speaks of metallurgy and textiles, which have been found
in Andean Peru; ite speaks of being an island, which Andean Peru at one time was;
it speaks of being oriented north-south, which Andean Peru is; it speaks of abundant
precious metals—gold, silver, copper, etc., which Andean Peru has more than any
other area in the Western Hemisphere; it speaks of a narrow neck of land, which
Andean Peru truly has (26 miles across); it speaks of a narrow pass through the
narrow neck, which Andean Peru has; it speaks of mountains, whose height is great,
which Andean Peru has, taller than anywhere in the Western Hemisphere; it speaks of
a major river running from the south to the north, which Andean Peru has;
it speaks of this river running on the east of Zarahemla, which Andean Peru has;
it speaks of ships heading northward and
westward out into the ocean from the west sea, which Andean Peru has the
currents to allow this; it speaks of 20,000 or so Nephites going to a land “which
was northward” from the Land of Promise that would have established a similar
advanced civilization to the north, and there is such an ancient civilization north of Andean Peru.
The scriptural record
also speaks of so many matches to the Andean Peru area, such as the uniqueness
of two important but unknown animals, which have been found in Andean Peru; and
of two unknown but important grains, which have been found in Andean Peru, that
an unbiased person could only marvel at the connections—but none of this has
caused anyone to see Andean Peru as the Book of Mormon Land of Promise.
6. “There is also no guarantee that Book of
Mormon cities correspond to major Mayan ruins. The Maya could have built
cities in locations completely different than the Book of Mormon cities and the
Book of Mormon cities could still be undiscovered.”
Response: Since the
Book of Mormon Land of Promise was not located in Mesoamerica, and there is
simply no reason to believe it was since there is no obvious connection between
Mormon’s descriptions and Mesoamerica, even with all the convoluted thinking of
John L. Sorenson and other Mesoamerican Theorists, it is obvious that no Book
of Mormon cities correspond to any Mayan ruins or vica versa.
The trouble is, when
people start writing about the events and places in the Book of Mormon, they
tend to have a model site in mind—in this case, the author is attempting to
prove his Mesoamerican model within his
article that appeared on the Book of Mormon website. Whenever anyone begins
with a model in mind, all their writing is going to try to support that site,
often requiring the changing or altering of the scriptural record, consciously
or unconsciously, to fit the parameters of the model. It is not the method in
trying to learn from the Book of Mormon—one must start with the scriptural
account as the basis and let that take him where it leads. Otherwise, a person
is bound to try and manipulate the meaning of the scriptural record to fit his
or her own beliefs.
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