This journey would “pose no difficulty whatsoever” according to FairMormon.
You ought to read the explanation at that link to see for yourself.
Another great one is on the web page of BMAF, the corporate owner of Book of Mormon Central.
[Some people still don’t realize that Book of Mormon Central is merely a front for the M2C advocating organization Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum.]
http://www.bmaf.org/articles/joseph_rocky_mountains__christensen
_____
The trip from Mesoamerica to western New York is about 2,600 miles, if you travel fairly straight over land.
Most people wonder, if this 42-year trip was so easy for Moroni, why was the entire civilization of the Nephites confined to a much smaller area in Mesoamerica for 1,000 years?
The answer is easy: The disparity is the only way to make M2C make sense.
M2C is pure bias confirmation based on a mistake in Church history. It doesn’t have to be logical, or even rational. It doesn’t require evidence. It doesn’t even have to fit the text, because if you believe M2C, you can add anything you need to the text, including volcanoes, massive stone pyramids, jade, jungles, jaguars, etc.
Then, after traveling so far, Moroni stopped at an insignificant, nondescript drumlin, built a stone box, and put the plates and other objects inside.
_____
If you accept the M2C dogma that such a journey circa 400 AD poses “no difficulty whatsoever,” we need to ask, why didn’t Moroni go the extra 300 miles to Sharon, Vermont?
According to the Saints book, it took the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia to move Joseph Smith’s family from Vermont to New York.
The eruption caused temperatures in India to drop, and cholera killed thousands, destroying families. In fertile Chinese valleys, summer snowstorms replaced a normally mild climate and flooding rains destroyed crops. In Europe, food supplies dwindled, leading to starvation and panic.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/saints-v1/01-ask-in-faith?lang=eng
All this destruction could have been avoided if Moroni had gone just another 300 miles. After all, 2600 miles was no problem. Another 300 miles would have been a walk in the park.
_____
Alternatively, of course, Moroni might have buried the plates at the Hill Cumorah; i.e., at the scene of the final battles and the repository of Nephite records.
That’s what Joseph and Oliver taught in Letter VII.
In that case, it would make sense to move Joseph’s family to New York from Vermont, by whatever means necessary–including a volcano.
Source: About Central America
5 thoughts on “Moroni’s mistaken journey”
Mormon 1:1-5 states,
“1 And now I, Mormon, make a arecord of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the bBook of Mormon.
2 And about the time that aAmmaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be blearned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a csober child, and art quick to observe;
3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the aland Antum, unto a hill which shall be called bShim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.
4 And behold, ye shall take the aplates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.
5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of aNephi, (and my father’s name was Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.”
The Hill Shim must have been near the Hill Cumorah. I’m guessing it was within a few hundred miles. The Nephites were retreating north and to the east. Mormon 4:23 states,
“23 And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill aShim, and did take up all the brecords which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord.” This was about 375 AD.
Why would Mormon and Moroni expose the records to destruction by the Lamanites during a lengthy 2600-mile hike with many stops to find food and water and avoid detection by the Lamanites? What about the several wagon loads of records that Mormon used to abridge the record? The Lamanites were determined to destroy the Nephites and their records. Mormon 6 states,
“6 And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were asacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would bdestroy them) therefore I made cthis record out of the plates of Nephi, and dhid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were ethese few plates which I gave unto my son fMoroni.”
The Jaredites on the Hill Ramah and the Nephites on the Hill Cumorah were on the exact same hill (Ether 15:11) where the final battles took place. If all the events of the Book of Mormon took place in the limited and confined area around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (~200×400 miles), why did it take the Jaredites 4 years to gather for the final battle? Clearly, it did not happen in Mesoamerica!
Mormon 8:1-5 states
1 Behold I, aMoroni, do finish the brecord of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
2 And now it came to pass that after the agreat and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the bLamanites, until they were all destroyed.
3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even aremain balone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
4 Therefore I will write and ahide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not.
5 Behold, my father hath made athis record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the bplates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and chow long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.
In verses 3, 4, and 5 Moroni says, “And whether they will slay me, I know not.
4 Therefore I will write and ahide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not…I have not friends nor whither to go; and chow long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.” This statement implies that Moroni doesn’t know how long he will live and he will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not…I have not friends or whither to go. He definitely isn’t planning a 2600 mile hike! Look at the definition of whither. Ruth said, “Whither thou goest, I will go” (Ruth 1:16)”
Moroni Chapter 1:1-4 states,
“1 Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed anot to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me.
2 For behold, their awars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their bhatred they cput to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.
3 And I, Moroni, will not adeny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.
4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of aworth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.”
These verses say that Moroni is wandering to avoid the Lamanites. He isn’t taking a 2600 mile hike.
Mormon 9:24 states,
“24 And if it so be that they perish, we know that many of our brethren have adeserted over unto the Lamanites, and many more will also desert over unto them; wherefore, write somewhat a few things, if thou art spared and I shall perish and not see thee; but I trust that I may see thee soon; for I have sacred records that I would bdeliver up unto thee.” This must refer to the records in the Hill Cumorah cave.
Ether 9:3 states,
3 And the Lord awarned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer bdeparted out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of cShim, and came over by the place dwhere the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family.
This verse seems to imply that the distance between the Hill Shim and the Hill Cumorah was probably less than a few hundred miles.
Ether 10:20 states,
“20 And they built a great city by the anarrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.”
This fits very well with the Great Lakes which certainly divides the land. Mesoamerica is just the opposite–land divides the sea.
As a side note, during the period 350 to 361 AD, the Lamanites had a treaty and 362 to 375 AD Mormon refused to lead the Nephite armies. This 24-year period could have been used by Mormon to abridge all the records–probably took him many years. The Lord and the prophets went to great lengths for over 2500 years to preserve, protect, and translate the Jaredite record with the Urim and Thummim and eventually Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim to translate the plates hid up by Moroni. as proclaimed by Joseph and Oliver. See JSH in the PGP. They never said it was done by a seer stone in a hat and the plates were not even needed or used during the translation. The bogus seer stone in a hat translation method was created and perpetuated by enemies of Joseph and the church.
The Book of Mormon is true. It happened in America and NOT Mesoamerica.
*thumbs-up* 🙂
I followed and read the links to the two articles referenced. Though I felt the first truly was a trivial article about travel times/distance relations, I found the second to have much more interesting information on Moroni’s travels, some of which I have not heard before. I was disappointed that this post does not address some of the information in the second article particularly the accounts given by Patriarch William McBride and Andrew M. Hamilton of Joseph Smith detailing to them the travels of Moroni after the destruction of the Nephites which included a ground sketch which they say Joseph specifically located the Land Bountiful (his starting point) specifically in Central America. After further digging I was able to find copies of the two maps the article references (supposedly Bro. McBride and Bro. Hamilton each separately reproduced a copy Josephs ground sketch).
https://rsc-legacy.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-fourth-nephi-through-moroni-zion-destruction/18-moroni-last-nephite-prophets
I have been becoming increasingly swayed by the theory of a North America setting, but I find the accounts of these men of having been given this alternate information by Joseph very astounding and would very much like to see some follow-up coverage of this information, especially regarding Joseph locating Bountiful in Central America instead of North America.
Good point. I’ve discussed those phony maps before. I can’t put everything in every post.
🙂
The maps are compound hearsay that contradict Letter VII, which Joseph helped write and had republished multiple times. The maps reflect speculation based on the Orson Pratt theories, which Orson himself acknowledged was speculation.
Thanks Jonathan, I did not realize that you had covered these before. Must be content from before I started following these blogs. I’ll continue to look into that. If you get the chance to post a link regarding those discussions to help in finding that info, it would be greatly appreciated.
Comments are closed.