"Curt" <curt.cardwell@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:13s5p0gmn929b1a@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
a bit
> I just found the following quote, allegedly from Brigham Young:
>
> "Here is the spot where the Prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this
> piece of land for a temple site, and that is the reason why the
> location is made here, and we can't move it from this spot."
>
> If this is true, or accepted as true, what does this tell us about
> Book of Mormon geography?
My personal opinion, which is basically all I have, is that it tells us
precisely nothing about Book of Mormon geography. The Book of Mormon gives
us a starting point for the geography, namely Jerusalem and the
surrounding
area. With a little logical work, it seems that quite a bit of the
geography
can be deduced as long as they stay on land. But once they build that
****p,
it becomes increasingly difficult to determine where they went, and how
they
got there. Since it appears to me that the Book of Mormon was not written
by
its original authors for the purpose of "fixing" the geography. Some
"mormon
scholastic" types, I suppose, have come up with theories that set the Book
of Mormon in a Central American locale. Critics of the Church don't seem
to
find much empirical evidence for that's being true. But The Church has
not,
to the best of my knowledge, ever declared that we know by revelation one
way or the other.
There is some recent work, review of DNA and other research done by
others,
which has led at least one man toconclude thatt the lands of the Book of
Mormon are basically the land occupied by the 48 contiguous United States,
as I understand his thinking. Here is one link to a disccussion of DNA for
determining the origin of current descendants (as we believe in general)
of
the peoples who may have been in the Amecas from the time of arrival of
Lehi's family.
http://www.fairlds.org/Book_of_Mormon/DNA_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.html.
Of
course this is just one discussion. But there is some DNA evidence it
seems
that Lehi's group may have come across the Atlantic rather than the
Pacific
as seemed to be widely believed "Mormons" when I was first investigating
the
Church back starting about 1970.
Here is another link to a discussion that has a bearing on determing where
the Book of Mormon peoples may be found and from whence hey came
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/DNA.shtml#asia
Actually these don't seem much help in giving us a definite answer as to
the
geography of the Book of Mormon.
This next link is to an article that seems to show that even back in the
early days of the Church, people, including Joseph Smith, gave reason to
believe that the Book of Mormon events after Lehi's people had crossed the
seas, took place in the area between roughly Palmyra, New York, and the
Rocky Mountains. Probably ranging from the Gulf of Mexico up to the area
of
the Great Lakes.
http://www.mormonstudies.com/geo1.htm
And finally, you might look at
http://eternityisaday.blogspot.com/2008/01/dna-evidence-for-book-of-mormon.html.
This is one viewer's reaction to seeing the information that I had in mind
to mention whenn I started this respons. At the end, he also gives
information about how to procure a copy of the DVD. I will say that for
me,
the first part of the DVD was not terribly exciting, but as it progressed,
it became much more interesting and somewhat convincing. The thesis of the
person who presents this argument for the setting of the Book of Mormon
being essentially the area now the United States, relies on someobservable
fats of the land and area, as well as some things said by Joseph Smith.
I think it is not to be expected that we will really learn the truth and
value of The Book of Mormon from studies such as any of these. But they
may
strengthen the sup****t for our belief, if we need it.
> Could Moroni conceivably have been in what
> is today central Utah and the models of Book of Mormon geography still
> stand, especially the limited geography model? If not true, is
> Brigham Young a false prophet? Or is this just some urban legend?
What is the reason that you are concerned about the standing of the
"limited
geography model"? I think it has never been endorsed by the Church, so if
it
falls, well do did the geo-centric model of the universe.
Gene
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