In my view, there are two categories of book of mormon maps. The land of zarahemla is north of the land of nephi. While the latterday saints asked the lord for, and was granted, permission to name a site in iowa zarahemla, and while they then went on to name sites in utah other book of mormon names, such as bountiful, lehi, and manti, the site of ancient zarahemla existed in western new york not far from the hill cumorah, as the following video will show. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. Membership is open to anyone interested in book of mormon research. Book of mormon central archive proposed details around zarahemla. They have many wars, and their lack of records causes their society to corrupt. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. This book of mormon map along with a wall map are available for down loading in color and the book of mormon geography book a promised land, the land of promise with all the mormon maps and details is also available at alpha publishing at. Red dots are the proposed cities in this model, mostly based on existing archeological sites 500 bc400 ad. Others argued for a setting in the american heartland. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in. Other journeys along this route were made for missionary purposes. As ive mentioned in the past, i have a relative who, after a life of believing in the mesoamerican theory of book of mormon geography, now believes in the heartland model.
If, for example, a map claimed that zarahemla was on the east of the river sidon, we would know from our internal map based on the book of mormon text that. The book of mormon geography geography map, dna, lands. The leading book of mormon geography correlation the one that successfully passed a strict audit identifies noah with chaak ak al. Book of mormon central archive from nephi to zarahemla. Each pointer on the map can be opened clicked on to obtain information regarding the specific site, artifact, or other. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the.
Zarahemla research foundation is a nonprofit, taxdeductible organization dedicated to book of mormon research. The purpose of many of these journeys was to seek safety in another part of the land. 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. And it was in the morningverifying the longitude of zarahemla new. I now know that the book of mormon happened in the usa in the historic heartland that is such a significant part of american and book of mormon history. Those that show cumorah in new york, and those that dont. Archaeologists and historians have not been able to archaeologically verify a location for the city. None to date have been independently identified because it is a work of fiction. The fight over book of mormon geography deseret news. Zarahemla and the nephite nation, hayriver press,colfax, wisconsin march 2002. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. The mulekite colony, after arriving from jerusalem, settles the land of zarahemla. Before we examine some of the possible locations for book of mormon geography however, i would like to stress the fact that as of today, the lord has not revealed where the nephites or lamanites lived, and as such, the lds church has taken no official stance on anything related to book of mormon geography. The foundation is not associated with any specific religious organization.
Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. 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. This map charts out a possible understanding of the travels of alma the younger reported in alma 516. In order to orient his map so that the book of mormon lands mentioned as being northward and southward from each other. No one in the book of mormon ever claims that the story of mulek came to anybody by inspiration.
The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. The one and only river mentioned in the entire book of mormon is called the sidon. Scherers grad student, omar andres alcover firpi, studied fortifications at becan which date from ad 100 250. Is it revealed where the book of mormon took place. All lds students of book of mormon geography who have worked systematically with the problem in recent decades have come to agree on this sorenson 1985, 2930. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in mesoamerica the contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf or the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Literary and historical studies of the book of mormon.
If this speculation is true, it does not imply that the book of mormon is somehow false. According to the book of mormon, the nephite mosiah and his followers discovered that the people of zarahemla came out. River sidona key to unlocking book of mormon lands. Internal book of mormon geography focuses on the relationships between lands. A popular traditional view among many latterday saint faithful covers. With all the wars found in the book of mormon, battle armor provides the perfect analogy for protecting ones self from the spiritual darts. According to the book of mormon, the nephite mosiah and his followers discovered that the people of zarahemla came out from. Zarahemla under monarchial rule the book of mormon online. Longterm nauvoo resident cal christensen shares his knowledge of the mississippi rivers des moines rapids from his own property on the rivers banks.
Where were famous book of mormon cities, like zarahemla and. Some placed the nephite capital city zarahemla in mesoamerica, others in south america. Possible book of mormon sites in relation to each other. Coriantumr stumbles into zarahemla, where he spends several months with the people. Searching for book of mormon ruinswhat should we expect to find. Mosiah and his refugee people presumably united with the people of zarahemla sometime between 279 and b. There is no universal consensus among mormon scholars regarding the placement of these locations in the known world, other than somewhere in the americas. City locations are relative and for discussion purposes only.
The capital of the nephite nation, from about 200 years b. The book of omni in the book of mormon tells how zarahemla and his people came to settle the land of zarahemla in the new world. The excavation at the purported site of the zarahemla temple, which i first wrote about here, has apparently already taken place. Why are there so many war chapters in the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Book of mormon geography, the near cumorah setting book. Proposed details around zarahemla book of mormon central. 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. This city was situated on the west bank of the sidon river, and was originally built by the descendants of the people of mulek, who left jerusalem, b.
Book of mormon geography settings, timeline, overview. Interactive book of mormon map virtual book of mormon. Imagined map of the book of mormon lands by tyler griffin, taylor. The book of mormon geography lds map and lands with dna evidence for zarahemla, cumorah, america, and indians and the narrow neck and caribbean sea. The map is without any scale, and does not attempt to relate them to presentday geography or place names. A dictionary of the book of mormonzarahemla, city of. Rod meldrum discusses the strategic importance of these rapids to the ancient civilizations of north america and how it relates with the book of mormons heartland model. From the title, i would have expected much more detail about how cities and other points line up or supporting ruins found. Misplaced lands and cities, madeup lakes and hills, lakes are. Help the current and future generations to avoid the confusion that comes from incomprehensible fantasy maps. Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland. 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. City of bountiful true book of mormon geography lands. The amlicites journeyed southwest near the city of amnihu and met the nephites at the hill amnihu, across the river sidon, where they were defeated see alma 2.
Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning. Holleys theory is that joseph smith authored the book of mormon and used the names of places in the new england area that he was familiar with to come up with names for the book of mormon. Another city prominently mentioned in the book of mormon is the city of bountiful which was located in the land bountiful. He began in zarahemla by calling the people to repentance in a powerful speech see alma 5.
The book of mormon map described in alma chapter 22 has finally been deciphered. The term comes from the book of mormon account of the people who came to america from jerusalem at the time zedekiah was carried captive into babylon. After several months of intense careful study of the text i have put together the following proposed map, showing the relative positions of book of mormon lands, cities, rivers, etc. Book of mormon, 1830, page 149 the joseph smith papers. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. It, therefore, is an important geographical indicator. Havent you always wanted to have a detailed map of just where everything is in the book of mormon. A detailed map for the book of mormon has been produced by archaeologist garth norman which may solve a longstanding puzzle. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. The precise meaning of the word zarahemla is not known. For me, any map that doesnt put cumorah in new york is not useful or even relevant.
The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. All my studies suddenly made sense, all aspects of the book of mormon finally became clear. According to the beliefs of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, zarahemla. But i emphasize, thats because i think knowing the realworld setting is important. It was a place you had to pass to gain access to the land northward. The following verses describe the relationship between the city of bountiful and the city of zarahemla. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. The source is never more than zarahemlas assertion during his negotiations with mosiah. This page provides settings and an overview or summary timeline with approximate dates for the generic map or schematic diagram of the book of mormon lands, including nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names in the promised land in the americas. After all, when you read the bible, you can turn to the maps and see where everything happened.
And behold, the king of the people which is in the land of zarahemla, is the man that is commanded to do these things, and which hath this high gift from god. The nephite war with the amlicites is graphically illustrated on this map. It also is used to refer to a large political division, and a minor character in the book. There are a lot of words and stars on a map in this video, all ending in an. Why did alma ask church members fifty probing questions. Tolkiens lord of the rings names at least 279 locations. Why are book of mormon names similar to where joseph smith.
Mormon inserts his explanation about the large and small plates about 380 ad. This change happened a few years ago, and he has several of rodney meldrums books. Article and photos by ryan fisher the phrase armor of god, has been ingrained into the mormon culture ever since i was a deacon and it probably goes back many generations. Zeniff leads a group from zarahemla to possess the land of lehinephithe lamanite king permits them to inherit the land mosiah, chapters 922. Then, vernal holley fits these names onto a map of the book of mormon that is manipulated to look similar. Over 23 of the book is given to proving that a benjamin winchester was probably the author of the editorial in times and seasons linking the book of mormon with south america, not joseph smith, and b benjamin winchester apostatized and fought the. Join us in the urgent cause to increase faith in the book of mormon and its liberating message.
Holley is an antimormon who does not believe that the book of mormon is an ancient record. The most recent internal map of the book of mormon superimposed over peninsular siam. The map spans jaredite and nephitelamanite periods during which settlements changed over time. The city of zarahemla, burnt at the crucifixion of the savior, and rebuilt afterwards, stood upon this land. Land of zarahemla land of nephi lehinephi waters of mormon almas people escape attempt to find zarahemla limhis people escape search party led by ammon nephite group led by zeniff some nephites seek to reclaim the land of nephi land of helam 1 2 5 6 4 3 7 alma and his people depart overview of. Book of mormon, 1830, page 173 the joseph smith papers. I have listened attentively to his fireside presentation and watched in amazement as he almost mesmerized his audience with tall tales and misrepresentations of what the book of mormon states. A summary of several theories of book of mormon lands in mesoamerica by. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described in the book of mormon. We want to find the exact coordinates for zarahemla and are not interested in fables. Later, the people of ammon journeyed north from lehinephi to jershon see alma 27.
Ces letter ces letter shows a map by vernal holley which cherrypicks eleven obscure names from thousands in a huge 210,000 squaremile fivestate region of the united states and canada. Mulekite colonization period zarahemla under monarchial. The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. Joseph smiths book of mormon names at least 127 locations. The capital city of zarahemla was located on the river sidon in. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. The lost city of zarahemla a new book raises new questions. In addition, sites and artifacts are also provided that give additional indirect support to the book of mormon story, such as evidence associated with other precolumbian hebrew travelers to the american continents. Maps moronis america the north american setting for.