Can a Florida Landing and Heartland of America Land of Promise Be Compared to Andean South America? – Part II

Continued from the previous post in which we are answering several comments submitted by a Reader of our blog regarding their Heartland and Great Lakes theories, and continuing below with the difference in the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean and Humid Subtropical Climate.
    In referring to the flora or plants (covered in the previous post), nor the fauna or animals in the Mediterranean Climate as opposed to those in the Humid Subtropical Climate, they are not the same in both climate areas. 

Large mosquito infestations in the U.S. is most acute in Florida, southern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana where humid and moist weather provide ample conditions; however, are at the lowest in Southern California New Mexico and Arizona because of the warm climate conditions

As one example of the fauna shows, the mosquito season in Florida lasts nearly all year-round because of the warmth and moisture, and where heavy rains produce thriving mosquito populations. On the other hand, there is no mosquito season in Mediterranean Climates of Jerusalem and La Serena Chile. In addition, there are no alligators in Jerusalem or La Serena, but there are a lot along the coasts of Florida, as well as inland in swampy regions.
    Historically, the Humid Subtropical Climate animals of northern Florida are the Armadillo, coyote, bobcat, black bear, mink, wolf, shrew, and wild hog, which are not found in Jerusalem or La Serena, Chile. Jerusalem with its Mediterranean Climate, on the other hand, had the cheetah, leopard, sand cat, onyx, fox, ibex, brown bear, lion, wild ass and jungle cat, as well as the crocodile, turtle, viper and monitor—none of which were found in northern Florida. Also, in Andean South America are the huemul, taruca and pudu (all deers), oppossum, puma, mountain lion, fox, llama, alpaca, guanacos, rhea, flamingo and condor, none of which are found in northern Florida.
    As for ores, while a variety of minerals are found in Florida's heavy mineral sand deposits, including ilmenite, leucoxene, rutile, and zircon, as well as having the nation’s largest known deposits of phosphate, there are no known occurrences of natural gold found anywhere within Florida. While there is native copper, there is only very limited silver. In fact, a majority of the world’s silver mines are located in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, China, Australia, and Poland. There are no major silver deposits in North America with what silver there is found in the western U.S.
    Internationally, Chile leads all other countries in the world in copper production, with Peru second, China third and the U.S. a distant fourth, with 90% of the U.S. copper production in the far west (not in the areas of the Heartland or Great Lakes “land of promise” areas. Chile alone produces almost twice as much copper as China and the U.S. combined; and both Chile and Peru out produce the next eight top producing countries in the world in combined total tonnage produced. Combined, Chile and Peru produce 7,720,000 metric tons of copper per year; with China producing 1,860,000 tons; the U.S. 1,270,000 tons, for a combined total of 3,130,000 tons; and the other top 6 countries combined, produce 4,550,000 tons.
    As for the Heartland there are very few areas of copper deposits east of the Rocky Mountains, and those are almost all located in the Canadian area north of the Great Lakes. There are no deposits at all in Florida or most of the southern part of the Hartland states.

Simply put, there are no geological conditions in Florida where gold is found, and there are no known occurrences of natural gold within the State of Florida; there are also no known silver deposits or silver mining done in Florida; also no copper in Florida 

Regarding gold, Internationally, the United States is the world’s fourth largest producer of gold, while tiny Peru is 6^th, and Mexico 8^th; however, the gold production in the U.S. is prevalent in the West, with Nevada producing 80% of the gold in the U.S., with Nevada and Alaska combined, producing over 90% of the gold in the US. In addition, California, Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington, and South Dakota produce just about all the rest of the gold in the U.S. Almost no gold little comes from anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains, i.e., the Heartland and Great Lakes areas.
    As for silver production, Mexico is the leading silver producer, with China second and Peru third. Bolivia is sixth, Chile seventh and the U.S. is ninth. Combining Peru and Chile would make them the second largest silver producers in the world. Peru alone has four times the amount of silver production as the U.S., with Alaska producing one half of the silver in the U.S., then Nevada and Idaho, these three states producing almost all of the silver production in the U.S., while importing 63% of their silver needs from Mexico, Canada, Peru and Chile.
    It simply cannot be said, as Heartlanders and Great Lakes theorists do, that there is a match regarding the ores mentioned in the scriptural record and northern Florida, the Heartland, or the Great Lakes. Ore cannot be imagined into existence, and saying it exists is not the same as it actually existing. 
• Reader: “So far your biggest argument for South America is a landing spot and climate.”
Response: What a ridiculous statement. It is hard to believe when we quote and match some 45 different scriptural references that match precisely the South American land, that anyone can write or claim that only two incidents is all we be base our reference Andean South America land upon. Wow! Perhaps one should read what we have written in over 3200 blog articles, four books, and numerous videos, before making such a ridiculous and self-serving statement.
• Reader: “All of that, a landing spot and climate can be matched in Florida for the Heartland theory.”
Response: Perhaps one should consider what the Heartland theory is based upon, mostly modern comments and not much in the way of scriptural references, before making such wide-sweeping comparisons that cannot be factually supported. We provide chapter and verse out of the Book of Mormon for every point we make—but the same cannot be said of the Heartland theory.
• Reader: “How about Joseph Smith who trekked across the lands of the Nephites? He was traveling from Ohio to Missouri.” 

Zion’s Camp moved across the plains of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on the way to Ohio. These Plains were considered the Plains of the Indians by Washington and people of the time in general, part of the Great Plains and the Canadian Prairies of the North American Indian

Response: While that was the route of Zion’s camp, you misquote Joseph Smith. Joseph did not tell Emma he “trekked across the lands of the Nephites.” He referred to the “plains of the Nephites,” a term not found in the scriptural record, but certainly an area, like most of Central America, Mexico and the U.S., Nephites and Lamanites were in all those areas between about 55 BC and the time the Europeans arrived.
• Reader: “Also, I've noticed you put more stock in Frederick G. Williams than Joseph himself.”
Response: Joseph Smith was a prophet, a very important and integral prophet in this Last Dispensation. Williams, on the other hand, was a member of the First Presidency. The two people are not comparable, and that is not to lessen the stature of Williams, but state that of Joseph in an accurate light. On the other hand, the importance we place on Williams is the result of so many people, especially North American and Mesoamerican theorists, who try to downplay his role and the importance of his statements.
    At the same time, unlike those theorists who say Williams claimed his comment about the route of Nephi’s ship and the location of Lehi’s landing, was received from Joseph Smith, we show Williams own statements about it. Joseph Smith was not involved in that comment or in that writing according to any written document of the time. Nor was it ever considered a revelation, though it was written on a paper with another revelation.
    Williams written information of Lehi’s landing he claimed was given him by an angel in the Kirtland temple as we have continually said, and not from Joseph. There is no record that Williams ever said anything to Joseph about it at all. After all, personal revelation is just that—personal.
(See the next post, “Can a Florida Landing and Heartland of America Land of Promise Be Compared to Andean South America? – Part III,” for more answers to Heartland and North American theorists)