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Cement

I’ve commented about this before, but the issue keeps resurfacing.

Advocates of the Mesoamerican theory claim the text describes cities made with stone cement, but there are three references to cement in the BoM, and none of them mention cement in connection with stone. 

Helaman 3:7
7 And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell.

Helaman 3:11
11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.

Helaman 3:9
9 And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings.

The only mention of cement with stone is in Joseph Smith’s testimony:

Testimony of JS-“Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.
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Joseph uses the term “cement” to describe how the stone box was constructed–in New York. Besides Joseph’s own description (and the even more detailed description by Oliver Cowdery), there is abundant evidence of the North American Indians using cement. Some of the mounds were covered with cement, to the point that they were difficult for farmers to tear down. People used jackhammers to break up the cement. Even today, at Cahokia, archaeologists have recreated a portion of the ancient wall around the city to show what it looked like anciently. It consists of tall timbers, covered with cement.

Granted, much of Cahokia was built during the Mississipian period, which is after Book of Mormon time frames, but the manner of construction matches what the text actually says. 

One thing is for sure: In North America (north of the Rio Grande), we don’t see cities made of stone and cement. We see construction with wood and cement. In Mesoamerica, by contrast, we see cities made of stone and cement, not wood and cement. True, Mayans built houses out of wood, and built wooden structures on top of their stone temples, but the primary construction method was stone and cement.

We see this in the logos of the various Mesoamerican advocacy groups, including Book of Mormon Central, BMAF, and the Ancient American Foundation:

The inspiration for the Mesoamerican advocacy groups was the Arnold Friberg painting of Christ visiting the Nephites, which featured the massive stone stepped pyramid with the long staircase up the front and the big temple on top. This is some of the evidence of Mesomania. 
You know when an organization chooses a stone pyramid as their logo, they are not focused on the Mesoamerican setting and not the Book of Mormon text itself.
The scripture says they built houses of cement, and cities “both of wood and of cement.” While there may have been Mesoamerican cities made of wood and cement, the ones cited in the 1842 Times and Seasons articles that started the Mesoamerican theory are all stone and cement (referring to Teotihuacan and the cities discovered by Stephens and Catherwood). Maybe the Book of Mormon says they built cities and pyramids out of stone and cement, but not in the version Joseph translated. 

Alma 38:8 says they built walls of stone around the cities, but look at the verse in context:

Alma 48:8
8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.


They build banks of earth and also walls of stone–which is what the Hopewell in North America did, including the mounds Joseph described as Nephite. 

It’s important to remember that they only built with cement because the lacked enough timber. This was a one-time exception. In the entire text, the only time they mention building with cement and wood was in Helaman 3.

Consequently, in my opinion these cement references in the text exclude Mesoamerica as a potential location described by the text.


Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Lesson 44 – Mormon 7-9

This lesson includes Mormon’s final chapter, number 7. It is the most succinct and comprehensive summary of the Gospel I know of.

Because chapter 7 is addressed to the Lamanites, many people ask who are the Lamanites in today’s world.

The Lord specifically identified them in D&C 28, 30 and 32. These are the Native American Indian tribes living in New York, Ohio, and Missouri (tribes who had been forced west from their native lands around the Great Lakes).

Strangely, but not surprisingly given Mesomania, the manual does not reference D&C 28, 30, and 32. Instead, it says this:

Read and discuss Mormon 7, which contains Mormon’s words to the latter-day descendants of Lehi. You may want to explain that latter-day descendants of Lehi are found among the people of North, Central, and South America and the Pacific Islands.

As the lesson manual points out, other prophets have commented on the presence of Lamanites in Latin America. I discuss that here:

http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/11/confusion-about-cumorah-lamanites-and.html

The important point to remember is that the presence of Lamanite ancestry among people living in Latin America today has nothing to do with the location of Cumorah 1600 years ago. Cumorah is in New York. Lamanites have interacted with other indigenous people throughout Latin America and the Pacific. While DNA shows that the Native Americans in the northeastern U.S. have non-Asian origins (unlike most native peoples in Latin America and the Pacific), there’s no reason to think Lamanite ancestry is more widely dispersed, albeit in relatively low concentrations outside the northeastern U.S.

Source: 2016 Gospel Doctrine Resource

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Overcoming false traditions about Cumorah

As we’re nearing the end of 2016 and our focus on the Book of Mormon in Gospel Doctrine class, I hope most members of the Church have taken a closer look at what they’ve been taught. I had hoped to have at least one issue resolved by the end of the year: the New York location of Cumorah. 

Many people have embraced the New York Cumorah, but many still fight against it. There is still a month to go. Maybe it will happen, but there are a lot of holdouts among LDS scholars and educators.

Anecdotally, I know many Gospel Doctrine teachers have tried to offer alternatives to the standard teaching that the Book of Mormon took place in Central America (Mesoamerica). In many cases, they have faced opposition from people who have been taught a false tradition by LDS scholars and educators. The false tradition centers on the Hill Cumorah.

It’s not easy to overcome false traditions.

It has been said that human intellect is like a speck floating on a sea of emotion, and that’s what I see happening here. My only explanation for all the emotion involved with the Cumorah question is Mesomania, as I discuss on that blog here.

I’m still hopeful that LDS scholars and educators will align their teachings about Cumorah with the prophets and apostles, but so far it hasn’t happened, so we need to identify which traditions are false.

If you’ve been following the Cumorah question, you know that LDS scholars and educators who promote the Mesoamerican geography claim that the idea of Cumorah being in New York was a false tradition started by unknown persons early in the Church. They go on to claim that Joseph Smith simply adopted this false tradition and perpetuated it, along with all of his contemporaries, including his successors as Presidents of the Church.

You might find that unbelievable, but it’s true. If you want specific citations, I can provide them, but you don’t have to look far.

In fact, every time you read or hear something by modern LDS scholars and educators that connects the Book of Mormon events* to Mesoamerica (Central America), the author or speaker has repudiated the New York Cumorah and all the prophets and apostles who, they claim, have “perpetuated a false tradition.” You will find this at Book of Mormon Central, BYU Studies, the Maxwell Institute, Meridian Magazine, and all the rest. You will hear it in Sunday School and seminary and institute classes. You will hear it at BYU campuses.

The bottom line: these LDS scholars and educators claim they are correcting the prophets and apostles.

They, the scholars, think they are overcoming this false tradition by promoting the idea that Cumorah is actually in Mexico. Or Baja. Or Panama. Or Peru. Or Chile. Or anywhere else that is not in New York.

In some places, they are using abstract maps to avoid the New York Cumorah.

In my view, the false tradition we should be concerned about is the idea that Cumorah is not in New York. The most common alternative is the claim that Cumorah is in Mexico. This tradition was started in the 1920s, after everyone who personally knew Joseph Smith had passed on. This tradition was adopted by LDS scholars over the objection of of Joseph Fielding Smith and other prophets and apostles.

So the question now is, how do we overcome this false tradition about Cumorah in Mexico?
__________________

I suggest three things:

1. Read Letter VII (Seven) and recognize how it was universally accepted by Joseph Smith and all of his contemporaries. I have lots of documentation on my Letter VII blog here:
http://www.lettervii.com/

2. Learn about the New York setting. Mesoamerican advocates claim the New York hill can’t be Cumorah for two reasons.

a. It doesn’t fit their interpretation of the text. When you go through their list of “requirements,” you see the requirements were designed to fit their Mesoamerican setting. They require volcanoes, for example, but the text never mentions volcanoes. When you read the text instead of the Mesoamerican scholars’ interpretation of the text, the New York site fits nicely–just as Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery said it did.

b. It is a “clean hill,” meaning there are no artifacts there. This rationale is based on the work of John Clark, a BYU archaeologist who published some cursory analyses of the archaeology that I’ve analyzed previously in this blog. It is often cited by the Mesoamerican scholars, who also outright ignore the accounts of people who actually worked at the Hill Cumorah and recovered boxes full of ancient war implements, as well as other accounts of farmers in the area who plowed up artifacts every year that they sold to tourists or kept in private collections.

There is lots of material here: http://moronisamerica.com/

3. Assess the scholarship of the Mesoamerican advocates. In this blog and in other forums, I’ve analyzed just a few of the dozens of articles, books and blogs on the topic, all of which are thoroughly dependent upon Mesomania. What I mean by that is if you already believe the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica and you want your bias confirmed (i.e., you have Mesomania), the writings of the Mesoamerican advocates are great. They will definitely confirm your biases. But if you look at them objectively, they don’t make their case. Not even close. They use a series of logical fallacies and illusory correspondences that are easy to identify.
__________________

The most important thing for you to keep in mind is that you are not required to accept what Mesoamerican scholars have been promoting for decades. Think for yourself. Read the Book of Mormon carefully and in the light of what the prophets and apostles have said in General Conference and in the scriptures.

Sooner or later, we will overcome the false tradition that Cumorah is not in New York.
__________________

*There is a difference between saying people living in Latin America are Lamanites and saying Book of Mormon events took place in Mesoamerica. Because of migration, Lamanite ancestry could have spread from North America where the Book of Mormon events took place throughout Latin America.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Lesson 43 – Cumorah

Lesson 43 covers Mormon 1-6. Mormon 6:6 explains how Mormon buried the Nephite records in Cumorah.

The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion, and Cumorah is the keystone to Book of Mormon geography. It is the touchstone between ancient and modern times. It is the pin in the map that the Lord gave us so we would not be left in confusion about where the Book of Mormon events took place.
And yet, there is a strong movement among LDS scholars and educators to put Cumorah anywhere but New York.
If you’re teaching or studying the Book of Mormon and you discuss Cumorah, you need to know that many LDS scholars believe the New York Cumorah is the product of a false traditions started in the early days of the Church by unknown people. These scholars teach that Joseph Smith adopted this false tradition and perpetuated it, along with Oliver Cowdery and many others. 
Every gospel doctrine teacher in the Church should be aware of what is going on. I hope every one of you rejects the people on the right side of the table and follows and teaches the same things as the people on the left side of that table.

Source: 2016 Gospel Doctrine Resource

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Letter VII was ubiquitous

LDS people don’t realize how ubiquitous Letter VII was during Joseph’s lifetime. I’ve made the point before, but our favorite scholars keep downplaying it, so I thought I’d mention some more historical facts.

I’ve mentioned before that a pamphlet of Oliver Cowdery’s letters to W.W. Phelps, including Letter VII, was published in England in January 1844. This is before Joseph Smith was assassinated. It was on sale in New York as early as August 10, 1844, when it was advertised in The Prophet under “Mormon Book Depository.”

It’s kind of fun to see what was on sale in New York City in August, 1844. Here is the list:

MORMON BOOK DEPOSITORY.
NO. 7 SPRUCE STREET, 
2ND. FLOOR.

Where may be found, a general assortment of Books and Papers illustrative of the doctrine and faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, among which are the following:—

Prof. Orson Pratt’s Prophetic Almanac, for 1845.—price 4 dolls. per hundred, 56 cts. per doz, 6 cts. single.

A Treatise on the Fulness of the Everlasting Gospel.—per hundred $8—single 1 s.

P. P. Pratt’s reply to Le Roy Sunderland–$6. single 10 cts.

An appeal to the inhabitants of the State of New York; Letter to Queen Victoria; The Fountain of Knowledge; Immortality of the Body, and Intelligence and Affection, by P. P. Pratt. $8 per hund. 1 s. single.

The Testament of the twelve Patriarchs, the sons of Jacob.

Correspondence between Gen. Jos. Smith, Col. Wentworth, Gen. Jas. Arlington Bennet and Hon. J. C. Calhoun: $8 per hund. 1 s. single.

An interesting account of several remarkable visions. By O. Pratt. $6 per hundred 10 cts. single.

O. Cowdery’s letters to W. W. Phelps, on the origin of the Book of Mormon.

A History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day [Latter-day] Saints—by John Corrill a member of the Legislature of Missouri.

Synopsis of parallel passages in the Scripture. price 5s.

Gospel Reflector. $1.25.

Times & Seasons, bound. 2,00

History of the Priesthood, by Benj. Winchester. 25 cts.

Millen[n]ium, a poem by P. P. Pratt. price 50 cts.

Index to the Book of Mormon, 2nd edition: per hun. $2. sing. 6 cts.

Address to the People of the U. States: 25 cts. per hun.

Gospel Light—$2 per hundred, single 3 cts.

Gen. Jos. Smith’s views on the policy of Government; Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys; Correspondence between Gen. Smith, Col. Wentworth and J. C. Calhoun, and a Memorial to the Legislature of Missouri.—6 dolls. per hun. 1 s.

Prof. Orson Pratt’s Prophetic Almanac for 1845.—Calculated for the Eastern, Middle, and Western States and Territories, the Northern portions of the slave States, and British provinces, it contains much matter interesting to the Saints.

Orders, with cash remitted, for any of the above works, will be attended to with despatch [dispatch].
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The pamphlet of Cowdery’s letters is listed as item 197 in Peter Crawley’s indispensable work, A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church,1848–1852 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 1997), which is online here. Crawley notes it was published by Thomas Ward and John Cairns, and that they used Benjamin Winchester’s Gospel Reflector version as their source.

The pamphlet was advertised in the Millennial Star in February 1844 and November 1846. Crawley observes, “the European Mission financial records show that during 1847 the Millennial Star office sold about nine hundred copies at a wholesale price of 2d. each.”

This is 900 copies more than any other reprint of Letter VII until about a year ago, when my little book was published. We’ve sold far more than that (and Book of Mormon Central has had more views than that on their web page), but there were only 18,000 members of the Church in England at the time, and this was the third year the pamphlet was on sale. This gives a good idea of how much Oliver’s letters, including Letter VII, were in demand.

Let’s say a comparable number of Saints bought the pamphlet between 1844-1846, for a total of 3,600 in four years. Assuming one copy per family, and an average family size of 4, this would mean there were 4,500 LDS families in England in 1847.

In other words, 80% of the Saints bought the pamphlet of Oliver’s letters. 80% is ubiquitous by any definition.

Obviously, some of these might have been purchased for missionary purposes, but it’s also likely that the sales numbers were higher in the first year or two after publication.

Using the same assumptions about family sizes today, we have roughly 3.75 million families in the Church. (I know, family sizes are smaller now, but these are rough numbers). To reach the level of gospel literacy the British Saints had in 1847, there should be 3 million copies of these letters in the homes of the Saints today.
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Imagine if 80% of the families in the Church today were familiar with Letter VII. It’s not possible at present because Letter VII has never been translated, but we’re working on that.

If and when 80% of today’s membership reaches the same level of awareness as the people did during Joseph’s lifetime, the Mesoamerican theory would be a faint memory.

Actually, it would never have gotten off the ground.

Source: Letter VII

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Welcome to Ireland

Recently there’s been a burst of activity from Ireland, so I wanted to welcome my fellow Irishmen and women. (Actually, I’m only part Irish, but I do have cousins in Ireland.) There are also visitors from the UK, but the Irish are beating them in page views.

🙂

We regularly have visitors from around the world, including Singapore, India, and parts of Africa and South America. The Aussies and Kiwis have represented, as have the Russians.

Next spring we’ll be doing conferences in France and the UK. I’ll announce the dates in January. I wish we could get to Ireland.

Actually, if the Irish keep beating the English in page views, maybe we’ll visit Dublin instead of London.

🙂

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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The Scholars are right

There has been a bit of discussion around the Internet about this Letter VII (7) nonsense and it’s connection to the Hill Cumorah.

We here at BookofMormonCentralAmerica know Cumorah is not in New York.

To clarify our position, we put together this table of authorities to help explain whom you should trust.

People who perpetuate a false tradition about Cumorah being in New York
People who teach the truth
Joseph Smith
LDS scholars who promote a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon
Oliver Cowdery
LDS scholars who promote a Baja Californian setting for the Book of Mormon
David Whitmer
LDS scholars who promote a Panamanian setting for the Book of Mormon
Lucy Mack Smith
LDS scholars who promote a Peruvian setting for the Book of Mormon
Brigham Young
LDS scholars who promote a Chilean setting for the Book of Mormon
John Taylor 
Heber C. Kimball
Wilford Woodruff
Orson Pratt
Parley P. Pratt
Joseph F. Smith
Heber J. Grant
George Albert Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith
Marion G. Romney
Mark E. Peterson



True, there are some disagreements among LDS scholars in the right column, but they all agree on one thing: The Hill Cumorah cannot be in New York!

The best way for you to steer clear of the people in the left column is to stick with Book of Mormon Central. They run a wonderful website that frequently reinforces the non-New York Cumorah. Here’s the link: https://bookofmormoncentral.org/

Be sure to read the Interpreter, Meridian Magazine, BMAF.org, FairMormon, the Maxwell Institute, BYU Studies, and other web pages affiliated with Book of Mormon Central. Don’t read anything that contradicts or challenges the consensus of LDS scholars and educators who have been properly trained in the Mesoamerican ministry.

Source: About Central America

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Mesomania – it’s everywhere

Trigger warning: If you have Mesomania, please don’t go to the links I describe in this post. You might get offended, and anyway you will dismiss these as yet more examples of how early Church leaders were misleading the Saints by perpetuating the false rumor started by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith that Cumorah really was in New York.

[For those new to this blog, Mesomania refers to the psychology behind the Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon, which prompts people to continue to insist that Cumorah is in southern Mexico.]

This is my last trigger warning. Anyone who has Mesomania and wants to retain it should stop reading this blog, my other blogs, my web pages, and my books. Stick with Book of Mormon Central, the Interpreter, BMAF, FairMormon, and other sites that will safely confirm your biases.

I’m writing for people who are not obsessed with the Mesoamerican setting and want to know more about Church history and Book of Mormon topics without the filter of Mesomania.
_________________________

I’m trying to keep topics organized, so I posted a comment about Mesomania on the Mesomania blog, here: http://mormonmesomania.blogspot.com/2016/11/scholars-prophets-keep-getting-it-wrong.html

LDS scholars are sticking to their guns, insisting the prophets and apostles are perpetuating a false tradition while they, the scholars, are teaching the truth. It’s unbelievable, but that’s the reality of it. Mesomania is powerful psychology.
_________________________

Separately, I commented on another 1844 reprinting of Letter VII on my Letter VII blog at this link: http://www.lettervii.com/2016/11/letter-vii-in-prophet.html

If you don’t have Mesomania, you will discover an interesting detail of Church history at the link.

Source: Book of Mormon Wars

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Letter VII in The Prophet

Few Latter-day Saints are familiar with the LDS newspaper published in New York City during 1844-5 titled The Prophet. William Smith was the editor from June 29 through November 16, 1844.

I mentioned The Prophet in The Lost City of Zarahemla, and I have more discussion of it in my upcoming book titled The Editors: Joseph, William and Don Carlos Smith.

For now, I find it interesting that Letter VII was reprinted in The Prophet in the first issue William Smith edited, which was published on June 29, 1844.

Of course, this was just two days after Joseph Smith was killed in Carthage. The people in New York did not learn about his martyrdom for a while. In the July 13, 1844 edition, William relates some of the accounts that were circulating, but he dismisses them when he writes, “We do not believe the report of the death of our Brethren, and shall leave the matter until we get intelligence from the Saints in the West.”

I’m sure it’s merely a coincidence, but it is interesting that Letter VII was published to the world in New York within 2 days of Joseph’s death. This means it was likely being printed at the time of the martyrdom.

Now we have Letter VII in these publications:

Messenger and Advocate (Kirtland)
Gospel Reflector (Philadelphia)
Times and Seasons (Nauvoo)
The Prophet (New York City)
Improvement Era (Salt Lake City)

So far, it has not shown up in the Ensign. Maybe some day?

Of course, if you have Mesomania, these reprints of Letter VII are misleading the Saints by perpetuating the false rumor started by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith that Cumorah really was in New York.

Many of those who have recovered from Mesomania have done so because of Letter VII. If you haven’t read Letter VII yet, you owe it to yourself to do so ASAP.

Source: Letter VII