The best available evidence for the book of mormon continues to support a limited mesoamerican model. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described. This chart lists the twelve recorded journeys between the cities of nephi and zarahemla, as well as other pertinent information, such as the dates, purposes, and leaders of the expeditions. Misrepresentations of historical sources orson pratts footnotes, manti, and zarahemla. Zarahemla was the name of the major nephite city as recorded in the book of mormonpart of the official canon of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints the city of zarahemla and surrounding area were not originally nephite.
The 21st international book of mormon evidence conference believes the book of mormon took place in north america the heartland theory, while the book of mormon central 2018 conference believes the book of mormon all took place in central america the. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting there have been numerous attempts to locate the long, lost lands of the book of mormon over the years. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography postulates that the events described in the book of mormon took place, primarily, in the heartland of north america among its proposals are that mound builders, including the hopewell and the adena, were among those peoples described in accounts of events in book of mormon books such as alma and helaman. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model. The book of mormon heartland model is a model proposed by rod meldrum which places the entirety of book of mormon narrative in the eastern united states of america. The river sidon flowed north, down from manti to zarahemla.
Membership is open to anyone interested in book of mormon research. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Much of the heartland of the united states may then correspond to the book of mormon south county or south countries. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. Walk the walk book of mormon geography, the simple truth. Zarahemla of the book of mormon is theorized to be located across the mississippi from nauvoo, illinois in iowa see meldrum, exploring p. Nov 17, 2014 the book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered.
Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland deseret book. The heartland theory is essentially that the ancient inhabitants of the heartland of north america known as the hopewell mound builders. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography postulates that the events described in the book of mormon took place, primarily, in the heartland of north america. Wayne may gives evidence of the great city of zarahemla in modern day iowa.
Zarahemla true book of mormon geography lands western. These two books are referenced heavily throughout moronis america maps edition. This heartland model for book of mormon geography downplays the geographical information in the text. The 21st international book of mormon evidence conference believes the book of mormon took place in north america the heartland theory, while the book of mormon central 2018 conference believes the book of mormon all took place in central america the mesoamerican theory. The debate on book of mormon geography is heated, but. Moronis americamaps edition book of mormon evidence. The annotated edition of the book of mormon aebom appeals to the geographical footnotes added by orson pratt in the 1879 edition of the book of mormon as evidence for the heartland model. We learn that zarahemla was located to the north of the land of nephi and the land. The annotated edition of the book of mormon aebom appeals to the geographical footnotes added by orson pratt in the 1879 edition of the book of mormon as. The one who uses this slogan cannot locate the events described in the book of mormon on a map. Large armies in the book of mormon required good soils and plenty of water from the heartland. There is a quote by joseph smith which places zarahemla in guatemala in this video. In his droll, witty and understated style he lassos many interesting joseph smith tidbits, reveals fascinating connections between hermann melville and smith, gamely bounces through a raucous, chaucerian style, mormon sponsored, quest to mesoamerica in search of a zarahemla siting.
Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. From the west sea to the east sea at the narrow neck of land was 1 to 1 12 days. Avi steinberg undertakes a pilgrims quest to the heart of the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book. The book of mormon, and the book titled moronis america the north american setting for the book of mormon, by jonathan neville. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Gods word is to be established by two or more witnesses 2 cor. The large armies in ad 384 at the end of the book of mormon required at least 2,000 x 700,000 1,400,000,000 pounds of foodstuff to be delivered on the riverways up to cumorah. More thoughts on the heartland model of book of mormon. A heartland book of mormon exploration the millennial star. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography states that the book of mormon events. The heartland is the place where it all happened, right. He began in zarahemla by calling the people to repentance in a powerful speech see alma 5. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography postulates that the events described in the book of mormon took place, primarily, in the heartland of north america among its proposals are that mound builders, including the hopewell and the adena, were among those peoples described in accounts of events in book of mormon books such as alma and.
At least eighty versions of a book of mormon map have been produced. From the valley of alma to zarahemla was a 12 day journey on foot. It was a year ago this week, i spent three days at two book of mormon conferences on the same weekend. In the last few years i have read over 5000 pages about the south america theory and reread the book of mormon multiple times highlighting every scripture over 500 that has any reference to geography, culture, prophecies, etc that may shed light on. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described in the book of mormon.
Some placed the nephite capital city zarahemla in mesoamerica, others in. Apr 09, 2019 it was a year ago this week, i spent three days at two book of mormon conferences on the same weekend. This zarahemla centric model map is based on a series of entity relationship definitions of geography see the entity relationship table in section 3. The book of mormon has the sea west to the west of the zarahemla and the land of bountiful, but the heartland model has it east of zarahemla and north of bountiful. Comparing book of mormon geography models mormon lds. Siron, city of jordan, waters of ripliancum, city and land of noah, land of joshua, city of teancum, city of aaron, city of mulek, hermounts, city of nephi, land of antum, land of jershon, city of bountiful, city of gid, land of desolation, middoni, sea sou. It is interesting to see how goble started out with this theory, yet he ended up where he is now on the subject, believing in cumorah in new york and a mesoamerican setting for zarahemla. Moronis americamaps edition 150 maps of the bofm in north america quantity.
I argue that these northbound immigrants spread out over the centuries and established settlements that were geographically distant from the core nephite. Your statement there is some evidence that suggests that the people of zarahemla were in fact a mixture of mulekites and jaredites. I was first taught and inspired about the heartland theory by my great friend rod meldrum. The book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered. In his droll, witty and understated style he lassos many interesting joseph smith tidbits, reveals fascinating connections between hermann melville and smith, gamely bounces through a raucous, chaucerian style, mormon sponsored, quest to mesoamerica in search of a zarahemla siting, rehearses for, but does not act. I do not believe can be true, 1 if the book of mormon is a correct translation of the plates and was done so by god then we must accept the words written therein as fact. Every proponent of meldrums theory i have ever met was at least a little bit smug about. The heartland is the place where it all happened, right under our very noses. Book of mormon geography jeff lindsays site and the. Above is a recent map of the competing heartland model. Feb 23, 2017 where i explain the meaning of the name zarahemla omni 1. His latest newsletter dated oct, 2009, says, 10 reasons why the book of mormon took place in peru. With the river sidon identified, we can go on to identify the location of the city and land of zarahemla we may surmise that because the lamanites and robbers occupied the western seashore, the mulekites would have avoided them and ventured inland, no doubt following the buffalo river as they went there is a nice piece of land between the buffalo river and its middle fork cazenovia creek. It really arose as a counterbalance to the problems inherent in the limited mesoamerican model.
An interesting correlation with mesoamerican geographysee map below. The capital city of zarahemla was located on the river sidon in. As the above logo depicts, we do respect this mandate, and our model is unique in this regard. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography states that the book of mormon events primarily occurred in the heartland of north america. Theories of how nephite lands relate to an actual map of the western. The purpose of many of these journeys was to seek safety in another part of the land. Where i explain the meaning of the name zarahemla omni 1. I do not believe can be true, 1 if the book of mormon is a correct translation of the plates and was done so by god then we. The meaning of zarahemla from the book of mormon youtube.
Then more recently north america theories including heartland, etc. Zarahemla research foundation is a nonprofit, taxdeductible organization dedicated to book of mormon research. Taking this map of the theory and moving around the map in a clockwise manner, beginning with lehis landing in the. Although, there were many people located in zarahemla it was not even half so numerous mosiah 20. Zarahemla true book of mormon geography lands western new. Five misunderstandings of the book of mormon text that. With the river sidon identified, we can go on to identify the location of the city and land of zarahemla we may surmise that because the lamanites and robbers occupied the western seashore, the mulekites would have avoided them and ventured inland, no doubt following the buffalo river as they went there is a nice piece of land between the buffalo river and its. Home true book of mormon geography lands western new. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. And if rodney meldrums claims are even close to being correct, which highly doubtful, then brandley speculation is bunk. Moronis americamaps edition 150 maps of the bofm in north. This book is helpful in understanding the theoretical basis for the heartland theory for book of mormon lands, much like rod meldrums book and dvds. Siron, city of jordan, waters of ripliancum, city and land of noah, land of joshua, city of teancum, city of aaron, city of mulek, hermounts, city of nephi, land of antum, land of jershon, city of bountiful, city of.
We may surmise that because the lamanites and robbers occupied the western seashore, the mulekites would have avoided them and ventured inland, no doubt following the buffalo river as they w. Oct 7, 20 the book of mormon geography geography map, dna, lands zarahemla, cumorah, narrow neck, mexico, caribbean sea, american indians, and true evidence. Book of mormon evidence vs book of mormon central search isaiah. Jun 05, 2019 the annotated edition of the book of mormon aebom appeals to the geographical footnotes added by orson pratt in the 1879 edition of the book of mormon as evidence for the heartland model. July 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message. Summary of problems with rod meldrums heartland theory. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into it ancient location, but are all too often disappointed. The purpose of the revelation was most likely to counsel the saints to gather at the appointed place and not, as the authors of the heartland theory suggest, to reveal the ancient location of a book of mormon city. The capital city of zarahemla was located on the river sidon in the center of the land of zarahemla. Although some have pointed out this isnt the only place given. This map charts out a possible understanding of the travels of alma the younger reported in alma 516. But recently, it has become a subject of debate as a group that believes the bom took. Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland. Zarahemla was the name of the major nephite city as recorded in the book of mormon part of the official canon of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
However, since it is a growing belief among many members, it is time to awaken those followers into a comparison between meldrums map and the scriptural record left us regarding the geographical setting of the book of mormon. In the heartland setting, the iowa mormon settlement with the namesake zarahemla, is presumed to reside in the book of mormon land zarahemla, even though scripture doesnt say this. My new book, nephi in the promised land is now available in the nephi project discovery store. Similarly, the editors of the aebom repeat the claim that zarahemla is known by revelation to be on the io. With the river sidon identified, we can go on to identify the location of the city and land of zarahemla. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. The saints did what they would often doname places they lived after places mentioned in the bible and the book of mormon. Less likely is hypothetical hebrew zeroemla arm of mercy, an english phrase used three times in the book of mormon, including once by jesus at 3 nephi 9. Was zarahemla in iowa and other errors with the heartland theory.
Home true book of mormon geography lands western new york. And other fatal flaws with the heartland theory by tyler livingston book of mormon geography is a topic that is of little importance and has no bearing on our salvation. Lost civilizations of north america documentary4, deborah bolnick on haplogroup x. While most lds scholars who grapple with details of book of mormon geography see mesoamerica as the most likely or only reasonably candidate for the ancient new world setting of the book of mormon.
The lands of zarahemla and nephi are near an east and a west sea. The land of first inheritance should be on the west sea, west from the land of nephi. While most lds scholars who grapple with details of book of mormon geography see mesoamerica as the most likely or only reasonably candidate for the ancient new world setting of the book of mormon, several people have loudly touted an. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. The city of zarahemla and surrounding area were not originally nephite. As each new theory surfaces, we gain fresh hope of acquiring additional insights into.
More thoughts on the heartland model of book of mormon geography. Throughout the book of mormon, we begin to see hints of what exceedingly numerous actually means. May, 2018 those who believe that the book of mormon events took place in north america often quote in the almost complete absence of written records, one must be permitted to guess, because there is nothing else to do. An argument could be made that he was wrong and the heartland theory represents the main nephite culture before spreading south.
A popular traditional view among many latterday saint faithful covers much of north and south america. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. I argue that these northbound immigrants spread out over the centuries and established settlemen. However, alma 63 indicates that there was a massive northward migration in the midfirst century bc. The land of zarahemla was on the coast of the book of mormon west sea. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. While many lds scholars are converging on the idea of mesoamerica as the focal point for the book of mormon in the new world, there is a notable movement calling for new york and the eastern united states as the place of the book of mormon. And talk about a heartland book of mormon geography is not helpful. The source of the animosity comes from the heartland theorys. The book of mormon geography geography map, dna, lands. This article relies too much on references to primary sources. The foundation is not associated with any specific religious organization.
I would also suggest that when reading moronis america maps edition, you have two other books with you. The hill cumorah in ontario county ny is the hill where joseph smith found the golden plates and is the same hill where the civilizations of the nephites cumorah and the jaredites ramah fought their last battles. Made popular by his 1985 publication an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, sorensons geographic model for the book of mormon has withstood the test of time and remains the preeminent geographic model for book of mormon events. The mississippi river cannot be forded well to the south of nauvoo, illinois and what was zarahemla, iowa. George is a proponent that the book of mormon lands are in peru. The book of mormon archeology foundation has a handy short list of major flaws with the recent heartland model for book of mormon geography. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. A popular traditional view among many latterday saint faithful covers much of north and. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book of.
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