Continuing from the last post
about the Book of Mormon scriptural record being the only source from which a
geographical setting for the Land of Promise can be determined, the following are
examples of geographical settings suggested by various scholars and theorists
that are not supported by the Book of Mormon and are contradictory to Mormon’s
descriptions.
John L. Sorenson’s map of the Land of
Promise, showing that it runs basically east and west when the scriptures tell
us it runs north and south. He has the Land Northward to the west, the Land Southward to the east, he has the East Sea in the north, and the West Sea in the south. He also has the Land of Many Waters about two hundred miles west of the hill Cumorah, and no north or south sea
Mesoamerican Theorists claim of the Land of
Promise in southern Mexico, Yucatan and Guatemala, with a narrow neck of land
at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Thus, claiming Hagoth sailed actually southwest
for 120 miles, and another 25 miles due west, then 750 miles west by north, for
almost 900 miles sailing in a westerly direction when the scriptures tell us
Hagoth’s ships sailed northward
The LDS Freedom Forum has the narrow neck of
land in upper Florida, where the land is 145 miles wide, which no average man
could walk in a day and a half as the scriptures tell us; also, the Land of
Nephi is to the east of the Land of Zarahemla, while the scriptures tell us
Zarahemla is north of Nephi; and the Land of Bountiful’s southern border is the
West Sea and not the Land of Nephi, contrary to the scriptural record, and
numerous other similar problems
J. Theodore Brandley has placed the narrow
neck of land far to the south of Lehi’s landing site, has the City of Nephi 600
miles to the south of the Waters of Mormon, the Land of Zarahemla north of the
west sea, and numerous other features, all contrary to the scriptural record
Arlin Nausbaum's Land of Promise has a Land
Northward about 25 miles by some 70 miles wide, Land of Zarahemla with a
northern border along a large sea, Land of Bountiful south of a south sea,
Land of Zarahemla east of the Land of Nephi, and the Wilderness of Hermounts between
the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla, and the Land of Nephi and the Land
of Zarahemla are not surrounded by water except for a narrow neck of land, no
narrow strip of wilderness runs between the Land of Nephi and the Land of
Zarahemla from the sea west to the sea east, and no narrow neck or narrow
passage blocks movement north since the land can be circumvented to the east,
all contrary to scripture
The map of Peter Covino Jr., showing a south sea to the west of the Land of Nephi
which scripture tells us stretched from the sea west to the sea east, a huge
Land of Lehi never mentioned in scripture, and a Land of First Inheritance to
the east instead of along the West Sea, south, a Land of Bountiful north of the
West Sea, a Land of Zarahemla to the west of the West Sea and thousands of
miles west of the East Sea instead of stretching to it as the scriptural record
tells us, the Land of Desolation running to the east of the Land of Bountiful,
south of the narrow neck of land is an open sea and the narrow neck is 150
miles across and more, running north to south for nearly 500 miles—all of which
is contrary to the scriptural record
Rodney Meldrum’s map showing the Land of Nephi
and the Land of Zarahemla not stretching from the West Sea to the East Sea, the
Sea North to the west of the Land of Desolation, the Land Bountiful to the west
of the Sea South, the Land of Zarahemla to the west of the West Sea, and to the
west of the Land of Bountiful, the Land
of Nephi bordering the Land of Bountiful and not the Land of Zarahemla, the
Land of Nephi some 600 miles from the Land of Zarahemla where the Lamanites
were continually attacking, the East Sea a thousand miles from the Land of
Zarahemla, where the cities along the east sea were located, all of which is
contrary to the scriptural record
Alan Miner (Ancient American Foundation) map,
though not complete, still shows Zarahemla to the west of the Land and city of
Nephi, the Sea East to the north, the Sea West to the south, and claims that
the Nephites used a different north than true north, all of which is contrary
to, or not supported by, the scriptural record
John Lund has the Sea West to the south, the Land
of Bountiful to the east of the narrow neck of land, Land of Desolation to the
west of the Land of Zarahemla, the Land of Zarahemla to the west of the Land of
Nephi
There are numerous
other maps created by Mesoamerican Theorists, including Joseph Allen, F.
Richard Hauck, V. Garth Norman, Lawrence Poulsen, J.A. and J.N. Washburn, Eugene
L. Peay, P. Douglas Kiester, however, all suffer the same problem as stated in
the ones above, with directions and location of lands not consistent with the
Book of Mormon descriptions.
In addition, there
are numerous other maps, including locations in North America, such as Vernal
Holly, Wayne May, W. Vincent Coon, Duane R. Ashton, Delbert W. Curtis, Phyllis
Carol Olive, Scott Hamilton, Paul Hedengren, among others, whose work has been
discussed in these posts over the past year or two, with each showing a
constant disregard for Mormon's descriptions.
Space does not allow
to cover them all here, but they can be found on the internet. Look them up. And
compare their models and the location of their lands with Mormon’s
descriptions, starting with Alma 22:27-34, and then with other comments, in
Ether and Moroni’s insertions, and especially Alma and Helaman. There are enough
comments in the scriptural record for anyone to diagram a basic and accurate
outline of the Land of Promise. Theorists' errors shown above and elsewhere in this
website are all the result of pre-conceived ideas, determining a location
first, then trying to show how the scriptural record or modern day prophets and
General Authorities support that model’s conclusions.
But when authors
have to spend pages, even chapters, in trying to explain why the Book of Mormon
is not correct, or that we have to go beyond its pages to understand what it
means, then beware.
The Book of Mormon
was written for us in our day, not to the educated, doctoral level person, but
to the everyday member and individual. Joseph Smith told us he delighted in
plainness, and the Lord has told us he speaks to us in our language as one man
to another.
The scriptural record
of the Book of Mormon is the basis for our understanding anything in that work.
As for the geographical setting, Mormon gives us directions, locations, a
couple of distances, and some important features. Nephi tells us how he got to
the Land of Promise, and Moroni makes some comparisons between a few Jaredite
locations and their Nephite names.
All we have to do is
start from Lehi leaving Jerusalem and follow him through the wilderness, across
the ocean, to the natural landing site of a ship “driven forth before the
wind.” From there on, it is a matter of placing lands where Mormon tells us they
are located, and understanding the location of certain areas, such as the four seas,
the narrow neck and passage, etc., and locate Ether’s Jaredite lands. It is not
rocket science. It is a matter of reading, studying, pondering and
understanding Mormon’s words to us. There is nothing hidden, nothing not
understandable, and nothing meant to confuse. The scriptural record is plain
and simple to understand, it does not require knowing how the Eskimos saw the
cardinal directions, or how far a soldier at Marathon or the Zuni Indians could
run. Lehi, Nephi, Mosiah, Alma, etc., all had the Liahona—a compass—and knew
directions. We need not try and figure out what they meant by north, south,
east and west.
Joseph Smith knew the
difference between a deer and a peccary, between a horse and a sloth, and what
an elephant was. We don’t need some Ph.D trying to convince us he didn’t!
The Book of Mormon,
word for word, gives us a complete understanding of the Land of Promise, what
was found there, where it was found, and its importance to those in the record.
It tells us of no one else in the Land of Promise for the 1000 years of the Nephite
record, and of the Lord’s promise to Lehi that none other would occupy his
promised land until his seed was destroyed. We do not need anthropologists
trying to tell us there were numerous other peoples and that they interacted
with the Lamanites and Nephites, etc., when there is not one suggestion, thought, idea, or claim of any other people in the scriptural record.
We need to start out
by trusting that these ancient prophets knew what they were talking about, that
Mormon knew what he was writing and why, and that Joseph Smith translated that
ancient record under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and not go off creating models and scenarios not found within the pages of the Book of Mormon.
No comments:
Post a Comment