Author: Jonathan Neville

De Soto discovers the Mississippi

The basic thesis of the article follows this logic:

1. Societies progress over time, starting with a tribal society and progressing into a state-level society.
2. These levels of society can be demonstrated by archaeological evidence.
3. The Book of Mormon describes state-level society, with some regression into tribal society described in 3 Nephi.
4. Archaeological evidence shows tribal societies in North America and state-level societies in Mesoamerica.
5. Therefore, the Book of Mormon must have taken place in Mesoamerica.

It seems to me the article misreads Book of Mormon history and also ignores archaeological evidence from North America that contradicts its conclusion.

1. The Book of Mormon describes mostly tribal or chiefdom societies, except for an interlude of a Nephite state-level society from about 84 B.C. to about 30 A.D. This state-level society was constantly weakened by wars and iniquity. The Lamanite adversaries (much larger tribal or chiefdom societies) were obsessed with destroying Nephite society and accomplished their goals in around 385 A.D. Consequently, according to the text, we should be looking for an area where tribal societies dominated, with little if any evidence of the state-level society surviving the wars and catastrophes.

2. Archaeology shows monumental architecture in North America–sophisticated and massive mound structures–that survived from the Nephite era to the present day and match the descriptions in the text. It doesn’t show evidence of writing, abstract thinking (apart from geometry and astronomy), sophisticated art, etc., all of which would be targets of Lamanite destruction.

3. Archaeology also shows extensive stonework, temples, and engravings on monuments in Mesoamerica–indicia of widespread state-level societies–that are never mentioned in the text.

As a result, consideration of tribal, chiefdom, and state-level societies helps to understand how the North American setting fits the text.
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Here are some of my thoughts that I submit for consideration. In my view, the state vs tribal analysis supports the North American setting.

The basic premise of the article is that there is archaeological evidence of state-level society in Mesoamerica but no evidence of state-level society in North America.

The article cites a paper by David Ronfeldt titled “In Search of How Societies Work.” That paper is based on a theory of social evolution. “This paper is the latest in a string of efforts to develop a theoretical framework about social evolution, based on how people and their societies use four major forms of organization: tribes, hierarchical institutions, markets, and networks.”

The article includes two lists, one of characteristics of state-level society, the other of tribal society, each accompanied by scriptural citations to the Book of Mormon. There is a photo of Hopewell artifacts, which the article claims was “diagnostically characteristic of tribalism.” This is followed by a photo of Mayan hieroglyphs from Palenque, accompanied by the observation that “classic lowland Maya society achieved state level.”

The article concludes, “State level societies leave unmistakable traces that scientists recognize. No North American culture known to science achieved state level society during Book of Mormon times. Several Mesoamerican cultures achieved state level societies during Book of Mormon times. John L. Sorenson succinctly summed up the situation: “Only one area in ancient America had cities and books: Mesoamerica.” Mormon’s Codex p. 21.”

Before introducing the list of tribal characteristics, all drawn from 3 Nephi, the article observes that “The Book of Mormon unequivocally describes state level society, as well as the precise moment when complex Nephite government degenerated into tribalism 3 Nephi 7:2-4.”

The Ronfeldt article discusses such regression.

“THE ULTIMATE FALLBACK FORM

“The tribal form remains not only an essential basis for the functioning of complex
societies but also the natural fallback option if the other TIMN forms falter or fail. Then
it again becomes the primal form of organization and behavior. People revert to it as a
sensible way to regroup and protect themselves under dire conditions—perhaps to start
rebuilding a society, or just to regress into a violent, recidivist rage against outsiders.”

Book of Mormon history starts with a tribe (Lehi’s family) leaving a state (Jerusalem) that faced imminent destruction. Once in the Promised Land, Lehi’s tribe divides into smaller tribes. The text implies that indigenous peoples are incorporated into Nephite and Lamanite society; at no time do the Nephites adopt an indigenous culture (but the Lamanites may have). Instead, the Nephites observe the law of Moses strictly. Nephite society becomes more sophisticated, while Lamanite society remains more primitive or tribal.

The article observes that “One word commonly associated with tribal societies is “tradition.” One word commonly associated with state level societies is “command.” Nephite writers often associated Lamanites with traditions as in Mosiah 1:5, Alma 9:16, and Helaman 15:4. Nephite writers often associated Nephites and deity with commands as in Alma 5:61, Helaman 14:9 and 3 Nephi 23:13. Another word commonly associated with tribal societies is “identity.” A word commonly associated with state level societies is ‘institution.'”

This all makes sense. Essentially, Lamanites were tribal; Nephites had a state-level society (for about 150 years, albeit severely disrupted by warfare and internal disruption, until the destruction in 3 Nephi; it’s not clear what kind of society they had after that).

The Book of Mormon text emphasizes throughout that the Lamanites were far larger in population and, ultimately, destroyed the Nephite society. (Nephite society was also smaller than the larger society of Zarahemla, which exhibited none of the characteristics of state-level society; i.e., no writing, no cities, no organized religion, etc.) Consequently, throughout the Book of Mormon, tribal societies dominated in terms of population and territory. To find the setting for the Book of Mormon, we need to find a place where there is relatively little evidence of state-level society. Plus, any evidence of a state-level society would have to survive 1) the massive destruction described in 3 Nephi and 2) the determined and aggressive effort by the Lamanites to destroy any vestiges of Nephite society, including written records.

That’s exactly what we find in North America. And, as the article points out, it’s exactly what we don’t find in Mesoamerica.
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The article itemizes these criteria for state-level society:

Anthropologists use criteria to distinguish tribal societies from more sophisticated civilizations that reach state level. These criteria include:

• Social stratification. Tribal societies develop a chiefly elite who outrank commoners. State level societies have complex social class hierarchies, each with different access to resources. Alma 51:8, 3 Nephi 6:12.
• Dense populations. Tribal societies settle extensively across their ecosystems. State level societies support intensive populations. Omni 1:17, Ether 7:11. 
• Urbanization. Tribal societies build hamlets and villages with occasional towns at particularly favorable sites such as the confluence of two rivers. State level societies build large, well-organized cities and city states. Mosiah 27:6, Helaman 7:22.
• Food surpluses. Tribal societies subsist on hunting, agriculture, and extractive industries. State level societies produce surplus food that gets re-distributed to urban centers. Alma 1:29, Helaman 6:12.
• Labor specialization. People in tribal societies tend to work in homogeneous occupations closely tied to nature. State level societies produce artisans Mosiah 11:10, lawyers Alma 10:15, merchants 3 Nephi 6:11, etc. who work in a wide variety of vocations.
• Centralized government. Tribal societies organize along kinship lines. State level societies develop formal ruling institutions Alma 11:2 where shared ideologies Mosiah 29:39 allow elites to control power Mosiah 29:2.
• Controlled trade. Tribal societies engage in long-distance trade of exotic goods. In state level societies, elites control trading networks to maximize their wealth Ether 10:22.
• Public works. Tribal societies erect stones and heap up dirt. State level societies build monumental architecture such as palaces Mosiah 11:9, pyramids Mosiah 11:12, temples Alma 16:3, roads 3 Nephi 6:8, markets Helaman 7:10, etc.
• Written records. Tribal societies communicate verbally and with ideograms. State level societies use writing systems Mosiah 28:11, develop widespread literacy Alma 46:19, and maintain record archives Jarom 1:14, Helaman 3:15.
• Symbolic art. Tribal societies produce naturalistic art. State level societies portray symbol complexes representing abstract or theological ideas 1 Nephi 11:7-11, Alma 32:28.
• Intellectual disciplines. Tribal societies orally transmit traditional wisdom. State level societies develop organized branches of knowledge such as biology Alma 46:40, physics Helaman 12:15, mathematics Alma 11:5-19, etc.
• Standing armies. Tribal societies muster attackers or defenders based on perceived vulnerabilities or threats. State level societies maintain a professional military apparatus Alma 2:13, Alma 62:43.
• Organized religion. Tribal societies have shamans, councils, and localized rituals. State level societies develop a priestly class overseeing religious institutions Mosiah 25:21-23, Alma 6:1.

I didn’t see a citation for these criteria, but the distinction between state-level and tribal societies is not binary. The sharp distinction implied by the article obscures the fluid reality of social development.

Ronfeldt notes an intermediate transitional stage of chiefdom. “Many anthropologists view the chiefdom as a distinct type of society that lies between the tribe and the early state. But in the TIMN framework, the chiefdom is a transition in which the tribal form is suffused and combined with the hierarchical form, yet the hierarchical form is still far from taking hold…. Chiefdoms could undertake activities that tribes could not, such as building public works and monuments, making larger weapon systems (e.g., long canoes), storing part of a harvest in a central granary, collecting tributes and taxes, organizing large ceremonies, arranging trade deals with outsiders, forming up for war, and making treaties. And as chiefdoms did so, the tribal propensity for egalitarian reciprocity gave way to a new
emphasis on inegalitarian redistribution; indeed, the shift from reciprocity to redistribution is a key theme in the literature on chiefdoms.”

Furthermore, Ronfeldt observes that “the most vigorous debates I have encountered concern the transition from tribes, to chiefdoms, to states. The major explanatory factors that scholars repeatedly posit for this transition are increases in population, in economic production, in local and long distance
trade, in warfare and conquest, and in social stratification. All these increases generate impulses and opportunities for central coordination and control, and thus for the emergence of specialized administrative and bureaucratic hierarchies—i.e., for the rise of the +I form.”

Chiefdom seems an apt description of Nephite society, although the Nephites used a system of elected judges instead of chiefs. “Secular and sacred roles also remained fused in this phase,” Ronfeldt explains. When Alma resigned the judgment seat (Alma 4:16-18), this may have marked a turn toward a state-level society. But it didn’t last long. Alma resigned about 84 BC. By 73 BC. Amalickiah sought to be king (or chief), with considerable support. The conflict between king-men and freemen reflects the difficult transition from chiefdom to state-level societies. The wars, the Gadiantons, and other problems caused continual turmoil. It wasn’t until around 30 B.C. that the people began to prosper, but the prosperity was short-lived.

I won’t take the time to go through each criteria, but one example shows how well the criteria match the text and the ancient North American cultures.

• Public works. Tribal societies erect stones and heap up dirt. State level societies build monumental architecture such as palaces Mosiah 11:9, pyramids Mosiah 11:12, temples Alma 16:3, roads 3 Nephi 6:8, markets Helaman 7:10, etc.

Let’s say tribal societies “erect stones and heap up dirt,” while state level societies “build monumental architecture.” Where do we find a society that erects stones? Not in North America–and not in the Book of Mormon. Mesoamerican societies are characterized by erected stones.

Where do we find societies that “heap up dirt?” In Alma 2:38, bones are “heaped up on the earth.” In Alma 16:11, “their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth and they were covered with a shallow covering.” In Alma 28:11, “the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth.” General Moroni caused that his armies “should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities.” All of these heaps are common in North America.

In addition, General Moroni’s army “had cast up dirt round about to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites.” (Alma 49:2). “They cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers.” (Alma 53:4). This is such an apt description of Hopewell fortifications that the Book of Mormon has been accused of relating commonly known aspects of moundbuilder culture.

What about monumental architecture?

“Monumental architecture, to archaeologists anyway, refers to large man-made structures of stone or earth. These generally are used as public buildings or spaces, such as pyramids, large tombs, large mounds (but not single burials), plazas, platform mounds, temples, standing stones, and the like. The defining characteristic of monumental architecture is typically its public nature–the fact that the structure or space was built by lots of people for lots of people to look at or share in the use of, whether the labor was coerced or consensual.”

The largest geometric earthwork complex in the world is in Newark, Ohio. “Enormous enclosures connected by walled roadways were spread across more than four square miles. This was the most spectacular of many such earthworks, concentrated along the tributaries of the Ohio River, marking the people’s beliefs, rituals, and sense of community.”

“In 1982, professors Ray Hively and Robert Horn of Earlham College in Indiana discovered that the Hopewell builders aligned these earthworks to the complicated cycle of risings and settings of the moon. They recovered a remarkable wealth of indigenous knowledge relating to geometry and astronomy encoded in the design of these earthworks. The Octagon Earthworks, in particular, are aligned to the four moonrises and four moonsets that mark the limits of a complicated 18.6-year-long cycle.”

By any definition, these earthworks are monumental in scale and sophistication.

The scriptural citations in the article regarding a state-level society are important. The palace referred to in Mosiah 11:9 was made of wood: “And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.” The Book of Mormon never describes the use of stone for constructing buildings. Stone was used as a weapon and, in one occasion, to build walls. Instead, people used wood for construction (and in a particular case, cement). To find a setting for the Book of Mormon, we need to look for a culture that used wood, not stone, for construction.

The pyramids referred to in Mosiah 11:12 don’t show up in my version of the text. That verse refers to a high tower built near the temple. My search engine doesn’t find the term “pyramid” anywhere in the text. Consequently, we would not expect to find pyramids in an area where the Book of Mormon took place.

Temples are mentioned in many place in the text. Alma 16:13 explains that temples, sanctuaries and synagogues were built after the manner of the Jews. The Jews never built pyramids.

Roads are a good indicator of advanced civilization. 3 Nephi 6:8 explains “And there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from city to city, and from land to land, and from place to place.” How many of these highways survived the destruction is unclear. Samuel prophesied that “many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.” (Hel. 14:24). And, in fact, “the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.” (3 Ne. 8:13).

Helaman 7:10 is the only reference to a market in the entire text. This was the “chief market” in the city of Zarahemla. We infer there were other markets because this was the “chief” one, and because “there were many merchants in the land,” (3 Ne. 6:11), but of course even tribal societies have extensive trade networks, which requires some form of market and merchant. Chiefdoms would have more sophisticated trade systems.

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Let’s get back to the basic premise of the article; i.e., that there is archaeological evidence of state-level society in Mesoamerica but no evidence of state-level society in North America.

This is really a question of expectations vs. reality.

If we accept what the Book of Mormon text says, we have a large population of tribal-level people (Lamanites throughout, people of Zarahemla for hundreds of years) contrasted with a small population (the Nephites) that achieves a chiefdom/state-level society for about 130 years (following Mosiah’s discovery of the people of Zarahemla).

The state-level society survives a devastating war to prosper for a few years before the government is overtaken by Gadianton robbers. Once the robbers are defeated, old cities were repaired and roads built. But soon the government collapses and the people divide into tribes. Then the destruction in 3 Nephi 8 occurs. “Many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth… and there were some cities which remained, but the damage thereof was exceedingly great.”

Assuming there was evidence of state-level society that survived the wars and tribalism, what evidence would have survived this destruction? The scripture says the destruction was intended in part to hide the abominations of the people, which implies obliteration of the society, including its art and culture.

4 Nephi 1:7-8 explains that the Nephites rebuilt the burned cities (another indication that they used wood, not stone, for construction), but not the cities that were sunk. After a period of peace during which little is known about the form of government, the society returned to tribalism (verses 36-7). Wickedness prevailed, to the point that Ammaron hid up the sacred records.

Society continued to degenerate to the point that Mormon says “it was one complete revolution throughout all the face of the land.” (Mormon 2:8). Mormon was unable to describe “the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people.” Towns, villages and cities were again burned throughout the land. Implements of war are the only man-made objects mentioned in the text.

Throughout the text, from Enos until Mormon, the Lamanites sought to destroy the records. That’s why Mormon hid them in the hill Cumorah (Morm. 6:6).

Finally, of course, the tribal Lamanites prevailed. Nephite culture, to the extent it was state-level at all, was annihilated.

In summary, the Book of Mormon describes a minority population that achieved what could be deemed a state-level society for about 150 years that was characterized by intense warfare and conflict. Even after the wars, the Nephite society was destroyed three times; first by the Gadianton robbers, second by the destruction preceding Christ’s appearance, and third by the final wars with the Lamanites.

What aspects of this brief state-level society could be expected to endure these repeated devastations?

The cities, towns, and villages were burned by the Lamanites, who were determined to wipe out every aspect of Nephite culture possible, including writing. The one thing the Lamanites would be unable (in a practical sense) to destroy was earthworks. These don’t burn and they’re difficult to destroy.

And that’s what we find in North America.

The Book of Mormon does not describe an enduring state-level society. It explicitly rejects the idea of a preserved written history, in stone or otherwise. Archaeological evidence of an enduring state-level society would contradict the text.

When Joseph Smith’s was alive:

1835 Messenger and Advocate and Joseph Smith’s own journal: It is a fact that the Hill Cumorah is in New York. [See Letter VII]

1841: Times and Seasons and Gospel Reflector: It is a fact that the Hill Cumorah is in New York. [See Letter VII]

1842:  D&C 128:20 And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed.

Modern day scholars:

FairMormon: “Since the 1950s, opinion among Book of Mormon scholars has increasingly trended toward the realization that the Nephite Cumorah and the Hill in New York cannot be the same.”

Neal A. Maxwell Institute: “the Cumorah of the golden plates is not the Cumorah of the final battles…This is not the place of Mormon’s last stand. We must look elsewhere for that hill.” BYU Professor John E. Clark, in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.

BYU Studies: The hill Ramah/Cumorah, upon which both the Jaredites and Nephites fought their last battles… is shown here on the northwestern edge of the Tuxtla Mountains in Mexico.

Consequences:

Because most modern LDS scholars “realize” Cumorah cannot be in New York, tens of thousands of people visit the Hill Cumorah in New York every year to witness a recreation of a Mayan temple on the site. Here’s how it appears in Google Earth.

Attendees at the pageant are taught that Mormon buried the records in Cumorah, but then Moroni wandered for years before the Lord directed him to the hill in New York.

For those who don’t reject Oliver Cowdery’s observations about Cumorah, I propose that we make Cumorah great again.

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Excerpts from Letter VII:

The Hill Cumorah was “[Cumorah] is the highest hill for some distance round…At about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale between… the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed…. In this valley fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the Nephites—once so highly favored of the Lord, but at that time in darkness, doomed to suffer extermination by the hand of their barbarous and uncivilized brethren. From the top of this hill, Mormon, with a few others, after the battle, gazed with horror upon the mangled remains of those who, the day before, were filled with anxiety, hope, or doubt… [Mormon] deposited, as he says, on the 529th page, all the records in this same hill, Cumorah.

In response to reader feedback, I often make changes and adjustments to my books. (My publisher updates the printing notice each time. The Letter VII book is currently in its fourth printing, with the date June 7, 2016.) By convention, a new edition contains about 20% new or different material, so the only way to tell what version you have is by the printing date.

Usually I update the Kindle version, which I’m told updates the file whenever you sync it. [BTW, the Kindle version is free if you buy the paperback from Amazon.]

The readable version on Book of Mormon Central, here, is an early edition.

I mention this because I thought I’d post important updates on this blog for those who may have an earlier version of the book.

Here’s the latest addition that appears on the dedication page:

The valley west of the Hill Cumorah in New York

My previous post about the room in the Hill Cumorah focused on Brigham Young’s comments. He said Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery visited a room in the Hill Cumorah that contained numerous records on metal plates and other artifacts. They visited on multiple occasions.

The reason this is important for Letter VII is that if, in fact, Joseph and Oliver (and others) visited a room in the Hill Cumorah that contained the multitude of plates from which Mormon compiled our Book of Mormon, then that corroborates (I would say proves, but proof is in the eye of the beholder) what Oliver wrote in Letter VII.

The existence of the storage room in the New York hill is far more significant than the stone box in which Moroni hid the plates for Joseph to find. It’s one thing for a solitary Moroni to haul plates to New York from somewhere else on the continent (or from another continent). It’s another thing altogether for that same solitary Moroni (or for his father Mormon) to haul wagon loads of plates and other artifacts from somewhere else on the continent, just to store them in the New York hill.

To put it another way, if the room where Mormon hid all the Nephite records (wagon loads of them) was in New York, then Oliver Cowdery had good reason to write that it was a fact that the final battles also took place there–even if he didn’t receive a specific revelation to that effect. And, in that case, Joseph Smith had good reason for endorsing and incorporating Oliver’s account.

I think most readers of the Book of Mormon would agree with that statement. What do you think?

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Commentator Rory offered this citation to Cameron Packer’s excellent article on the topic that includes nine additional references to the room of records:

http://publications.mi.byu.edu/publications/jbms/13/1/S00006-50be6ae14ef1b5Packer.pdf

Here is the Abstract:

The significance of the Hill Cumorah in the restoration of the gospel goes beyond its identification as the ancient repository of the metal plates known as the Book of Mormon. In the second half of the 19th century, a teaching about a cave in the hill began surfacing in the writings of several leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In their view, the hill was not only the place where Joseph Smith received the plates but also their final repository, along with other sacred treasures, after the translation was finished. This article cites ten different accounts, all secondhand, that refer to this cave and what was found there. The author includes a comparison of the accounts that discusses additional records in the cave, God’s dominion over Earth’s treasure, miraculous dealings of God, and the significance of the presence of the sword of Laban.

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Brigham Young made the point that Oliver didn’t talk about this in public. He also mentioned Hyrum and Don Carlos as having seen the room. The other accounts have Hyrum telling Phelps about it, and so forth. You can read them at the above link.

Some LDS authors have speculated that this was a visionary experience. Yet the accounts refer to multiple visits by multiple people, including Joseph, Oliver, Hyrum, Don Carlos, and David Whitmer.

The two rationales I’ve seen for explaining these accounts as visionary are 1) such a large room cannot exist in a drumlin such as the Hill Cumorah in New York, and 2) the two-Cumorah theory requires that the room full of records be somewhere else.

I don’t find these rationales persuasive because we know there is a stone-lined room in the Hill Cumorah that fits the description–reality trumps theory in this case–and because the two-Cumorah requirement is a rhetorical concept (a circular argument, really), not a requirement of the text.
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This is another example of the simplest explanation and reconciliation rules.

We have multiple accounts (albeit hearsay) of Joseph, Oliver, and others entering a room in the New York Hill Cumorah that was full of additional plates and other artifacts. We have an actual room in the Hill that matches the description, although empty of artifacts at this point. We have Oliver writing that the final battles of the Nephites took place in the valley west of the New York Hill Cumorah. We have Joseph Smith endorsing Oliver’s account and incorporating it into his own journal. We have multiple reprintings of Oliver’s account while Joseph was alive. We have Joseph alluding to the Hill Cumorah in D&C 128.

The simplest explanation is that the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites took place in the valley west of the New York Hill Cumorah, just as Oliver wrote. This simple explanation also reconciles all the available evidence.

The two-Cumorah theory requires a series of assumptions. First, that the multiple accounts of Joseph, Oliver, and others entering the room on multiple occasions are all visionary experiences. Second, that it is impossible to have a room in the New York Hill Cumorah. Third, that Oliver was merely speculating about the scene of the final battles, and that when he wrote it was a fact, he was lying or confused or inarticulate. Fourth, when Joseph endorsed and incorporated Oliver’s Letter VII, he, too, was speculating.

I choose the simplest explanation. Others choose the complex explanation. I have no problem with whatever you choose, as readers here, so long as we are all clear on what our choices entail.

In my view, the multiple accounts of multiple people making multiple visits to the room in the New York Hill Cumorah that contained wagon loads of plates and other artifacts effectively corroborate Letter VII. And with Letter VII putting Cumorah in New York, we can work out Book of Mormon geography from there. 

A question has arisen as to why Letter VII and the other letters written by Oliver Cowdery were reprinted so often. I happened to be reading a devotional address by Elder Bednar and thought it might be an answer.

Here’s an excerpt:

____________

Letter VII was originally published in 1835 in the Messenger and Advocate. Later that year, Joseph Smith had his scribes copy it into his journal as part of his life history. He could have simply referred to the Messenger and Advocate, but he felt it was important to include all the letters, together, as a single narrative.

Orson Pratt quoted from Letter VII in his 1840 pamphlet, Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, which is online here.

Later, when Benjamin Winchester asked for permission to reprint Oliver’s letters, Joseph readily agreed. It wasn’t until March 1841 that Winchester finally published the letters, as a single narrative, in the Gospel Reflector. That made the letter available to the Saints in Philadelphia and the Eastern States. Later, when the issues of the Gospel Reflector were bound, the volume was sold in Nauvoo. Wilford Woodruff purchased a copy for a friend who wanted to know what Mormons believed. The bound copy was, in effect, yet another republication of Letter VII.

Don Carlos Smith was the editor of the Times and Seasons in Nauvoo. Beginning in late 1840, he published portions of the Cowdery letters as well. Letter VII was published on April 15, 1841, making it available to the Saints in Nauvoo and to anyone who subscribed to the newspaper.

The letters were published as a separate pamphlet in Liverpool in 1844. That pamphlet was adapted from Winchester’s Gospel Reflector and is available online here.

I think Letter VII was reprinted so many times because it was so important. Oliver’s history was the most complete history of the early days of the Church until the serialized History of Joseph Smith began running in the Times and Seasons in 1842, but it was also important for people to know that the New York hill was a touchstone for the Book of Mormon. It was a connection between ancient and modern times–a pin in the map.

In fact, had Letter VII been republished after Joseph died, and maintained as prominently as it was when Joseph was alive, alternative theories about Cumorah may never have arisen.

6. 1841 Bernhisel letter. This is the thank-you note, purportedly from Joseph Smith, to John Bernhisel, who had given a copy of the Stephens’ books to Wilford Woodruff to give to the Prophet. Brother Hedges infers that the letter is in John Taylor’s handwriting, but so far the handwriting remains unidentified. The significance of the letter, based on its content alone, is unclear; it does not link specific sites anywhere in the Americas to the Book of Mormon.

More importantly, I think Wilford Woodruff drafted this letter and had it written out by someone with good penmanship. An entire chapter in The Editors: Joseph, William, and Don Carlos Smith is devoted to this issue. The evidence, in my view, is overwhelming, but we’ll see what others think when the book is released later in June. I don’t think Joseph had anything to do with this letter and never even saw it.

7. May 2, 1842 T&S editorial: “A Catacomb of Mummies Found in Kentucky.” This 231-word editorial accompanies an extract from Josiah Priest’s book American Antiquities. It is signed “ED.” for Editor. Joseph Smith was the nominal editor at the time, which has given rise to a long-held assumption that he wrote, edited, or approved of the editorial. As I’ve shown in Brought to Light, the evidence instead points to other authors, operating under the generic umbrella of the “Ed.” signature. I can find no extrinsic evidence that Joseph Smith wrote, edited, approved of, or even read any of these editorials (this one or the following four). As explained elsewhere, I think William Smith was editing the Times and Seasons, with the assistance of W.W. Phelps. William promoted the Mesoamerican setting even after he was excommunicated.

8. July 15, 1842 T&S editorial: “American Antiquities.” This 249-word editorial accompanies another extract from American Antiquities. Again, it is signed “ED.” for Editor. In Brought to Light, I demonstrate that the quotations in the July 15 editorial comes from the 2d or 3d edition; i.e., the one Benjamin Winchester used elsewhere. (Parley P. Pratt used the 5th Edition.) For the reasons set out in that book, I think Winchester probably wrote this editorial. His friend William Smith would have no problem publishing this editorial, or the ones that followed.

9. Sept. 15, 1842 T&S editorial: “Extract.” This editorial comments on an extended extract from Stephens. It is unsigned (anonymous), but it concludes with the statement “surely the Lord worketh and none can hinder,” an allusion to the masthead of Winchester’s newspaper, the Gospel Reflector. I find it highly unlikely that Joseph Smith would have taken the time to find this long extract from the Stephens book and write this editorial without signing it, let alone without mentioning it in his journal or to any of the people around him (none of whom noted a single incident in which Joseph commented on or even read the Stephens books). Winchester never signed his articles, either when originally published in the Gospel Reflector or when republished in the Times and Seasons.

10. Sept. 15, 1842 T&S editorial: “Facts Are Stubborn Things.” This brief editorial accompanies another brief extract from Stephens. The author would have had to search the Stephens books to find this quotation. The title comes from a famous saying by John Adams. I think Winchester wrote this editorial as well, although Phelps or William Smith could have done it (or edited it).

11. Oct. 1, 1842 T&S editorial: “Zarahemla.” This is the editorial that claims Zarahemla is located in Quirigua. Although the writer equivocates a little, he places a heavy burden of proof onto those who disagree with that setting. It is this preposterous claim that I propose led Joseph Smith–who didn’t see the article until after it was published–to resign as editor and fire William Smith from the Wasp (and the Times and Seasons).

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The bottom line, as this brief outline explains, is that all the documents that can be directly attributed to Joseph Smith describe a North American setting. All those that describe a Central American setting cannot be directly attributed to Joseph Smith; to the contrary, the facts distance them from him.

4. 1834 letter to Emma. This is the letter Joseph wrote to Emma during Zion’s Camp. He was on the eastern bank of the Mississippi and explained how the camp, which had just crossed Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, had been “wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionaly the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity.” We don’t have the original of this letter, but the letter was copied into a letterbook which we do have. Consequently, it is in the handwriting of the scribe.

5. 1835 Letter VII. Everyone who reads this blog by now should know that Oliver Cowdery wrote Letter VII to explain that Cumorah–in New York–was the scene of the final battles. In it, he expounded on “the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.” He leaves no room for conjecture about this. However, as brother Hedges points out, Oliver did not discuss “the extent of Nephite lands or settlement, or where their civilization may have been centered.”

Since 2007, we’ve seen that Letter VII was far more widespread and even ubiquitous during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. It was published in the Messenger and Advocate (1835), copied into Joseph’s journal as part of his life history (1835), quoted in Orson Pratt’s 1840 pamphlet, republished in the Times and Seasons (1841) and the Gospel Reflector (1841), and published in Edinburgh (1844) along with the other seven letters in a special pamphlet. Joseph gave Winchester specific permission to publish Oliver’s letters. I can’t find any uncertainty or speculation about the New York Cumorah until the 1920s, when scholars from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first developed the two-Cumorah theory. Joseph Fielding Smith denounced that, “because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.” Nevertheless, LDS scholars picked up the RLDS theory and now, as of 2016, it is the prevailing theory among scholars, portrayed in Church media (including the Arnold Friberg paintings in the pages of the text itself). The two-Cumorah theory is as ubiquitous today as Letter VII was during Joseph Smith’s day.

Summary: These letters put a pin in the map for the New York Cumorah and, arguably, for the plains of the Nephites (mentioned in several verses) in the Midwest. They are not specific about other locations, however.

 When we look at the river bed, we see that these rapids near Keokuk, Iowa, are the first place where the shallows make passage of a large ship impossible. It makes sense that the Mulekites would have disembarked here and “dwelt there from that time forth.” At this point of the Mississippi River, you can cross on foot much of the year. It would make an excellent trading area.  

When Joseph Smith purchased the land for Nauvoo, he actually purchased far more land across the river in Iowa, as this map from the Joseph Smith papers shows.

If this area–designated in the 1800s as the “half-breed trace”–was the location of the ancient city of Zarahemla, the location could explain why the people were wealthy and why they had problems with pride, etc. (Of course, every human society has problems of pride, envy, etc. However, Alma focuses particularly on this when he’s in the city of Zarahemla.)

Alma 2 discusses Amlici’s attempted insurrection. Alma leads the Nephite armies across the River Sidon to battle against Amlici and his army (the Amlicites). Although Alma’s men prevail, the Amlicites who survive flee southward. Alma’s spies follow them until they see the Amlicites join with a Lamanite army. Then the spies hurry back to camp, alert Alma, and a battle ensues.

You may be surprised to know that Alma 2 has generated a tremendous amount of discussion about Book of Mormon geography. The question is whether the Amlicites–and Alma’s spies after them–crossed the River Sidon. Many people think they did, although the text doesn’t say so. I disagree: I think the Amlicites and the spies stayed on the eastern side of Sidon.

The text frames the battle as part of a race to the city of Zarahemla: “except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain.” (Alma 2:25)

Verse 27 describes how the battle took place:

27 And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea, came upon them to destroy them.

I think this verse means Alma and his men were crossing the river from east to west, and the Lamanites came upon them from behind. Others think this verse means the Lamanites were already on the western bank. I’ve had numerous discussions on this point, and I think both interpretations are plausible, depending on what assumptions you make.

I adopted the first one because it makes more sense to me conceptually, and because the text specifies that Alma crossed the river initially to attack the Amlicites, and then crossed it again to defend Zarahemla, but it never mentions anyone else crossing the river.

In a way, this is geography minutia. You can read the debates online. For me,the point of this account is how much effort Alma exerted to protect and save the liberty of his people.

Still, here’s how I envision the battle taking place: