A twohundredyear era of peace followed that visit of christ. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Mormons map carefully and concisely accomplishes what it sets out to do. To help us place a copy in our own heart or in the heart of a friend, neighbor, or loved one, let us turn again to the introductory page, which is. It contains a record of gods dealings with three groups of people who migrated from the near east or west asia to the americas hundreds of years before the arrival of europeans. Sorenson first developed his model in 1953 and committed it to paper in 1955. Mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from information. Events describe over 170 features including 15 lands, 47 cities, seas, wildernesses, a river, an isthmus, distances and other geographic details interweave through the narrative with precision across time. It has been accepted for inclusion in byu studies quarterly by an authorized editor of byu scholarsarchive. 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. Sorenson was born in 1924 in smithfield, utah, where he grew up. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorenson s book of mormon geography. Sorensons most popular book is an ancient american setting for the book of mormon. The book of mormon tickets are known to sell out fast, and sameday tickets may not be available.
Jan 01, 2000 mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text after years of intensive study. Sorenson born april 8, 1924 is an emeritus professor of anthropology at brigham young university byu and the author of an ancient american setting for the book of mormon as well as many other books and articles on the book of mormon and archaeology. They were instructed to build eight barges in which to sail to america. Moroni, the last of the nephite prophethistorians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about a. Mormon s map carefully and concisely accomplishes what it sets out to do. Have you ever wondered what the book of mormon really is. Book of mormon in north america maps book of mormon evidence.
This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. Jan 01, 2000 john l sorenson is one of the best book of mormon scholars, having written seveal excellent texts, such as an ancient american setting for the book of mormon and images of ancient america. Underwater archaeology and the book of mormon in sorenson. Vern holly maps shows book of mormon names are of recent origin. The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography states that the book of mormon events primarily occurred in the heartland of north america. Hedges in the course of his efforts to chart the development of ideas regarding book of mormon geography, john l. No effort should be made to identify points on this map with any existing geographical location. These arguments were summarized more recently in john l. In my case a testimony was not something i had to acquire at a given moment as a response to doubts. In fact, we can internally map out most of the book of mormon lands and their relative locations. As the ancient prophet mormon edited the scriptural texts that would become the book of mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical. The lamanite city jerusalem in the land of nephi was named by lehite migrants after the. Based on the earliest sources available, this corrected text represents the most accurate and readable edition of thebook of mormonever published first published in 1830, the book of mormon is the authoritative scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and its estimated million members.
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. Did they find others there, mulekites are there others in the book of mormon a critique and partial rebuttal of the book of mormon article when lehis party arrived in the land. List of evidence of the book of mormon john sorenson. Their purpose is to help you connect, visualize and remember the stories, and they are meant to be used as you study color in the different lands if you wish but most importantly, take notes on the page.
Even our own members start reading the book of mormon with good intentions, but often, when they get to 2 nephi and run into the isaiah wall, many never complete this spiritually powerful book. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text after years of. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. The sendup of missionaries from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints is getting a rousing reception. 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. But we can figure out quite a lot through a process of deductive reasoning. Book of mormon geography your site for lds theology. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or of book of mormon central. The jaredites book of ether came to the new world at the time of the tower of babel. Sorenson has 15 books on goodreads with 934 ratings. An ancient american book see a video further down the page. Book of mormon geography, archives edition december 28, 2015 by j.
So happy to have the original cast immortalized, in a sense. It is thorough, covers many aspects of the field, and is probably the most objective work at its time. Sorenson outlined his model in his seminal 1985 work, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, john l. Sorensons groundbreaking book, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, published in 1985. He received an ma in archaeology from byu and a phd in anthropology from ucla. Deseret news archives when john sorensons longawaited volume an ancient american setting for the book of mormon finally appeared in 1985, i was thrilled and bought it immediately. The holly map really nailed it for me, too, especially after having read sorenson s geographical fiction an ancient american setting for the book of mormon.
John sorensons mormons codex examines book of mormon. The place shazer in the arabian peninsula many latterday saints have become fascinated about recent discoveries in the arabian peninsula that provide strong evidence for the authenticity and plausibility of the book of mormon. Ill still gladly buy an official video recording, if such a thing is ever created. Research by latterday saints and others over the past 40 years has made it possible for us to know a good deal of concrete detail about the jerusalem from which lehi led his family. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 1996 1985, 1. Book of mormon study map alma 127 the red headed hostess. Book of mormon geography, archives edition by common.
Watch this 60 second video to see what the book of mormon is and how it can help. For many years the smithsonian institution in washington has received inquiries concerning the book of mormon, its role in the institutions scientific activities, and a number of specific. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. Piecing the geography together the book of mormon provides a consistent narrative on the geography of book of mormon. Mormons codex is the culmination of a lifetimes labor by mormonisms preeminent mesoamerican specialist. The mezcalapagrijalva river system as it flowed in early nephite times is traced in blue. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Supplementing jeff lindsays book of mormon evidences page. Many rivers, tributaries and distributaries have not yet been traced on these maps. Place the book of mormon in your heart byu speeches. Made popular by his 1985 publication an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, sorenson s geographic model for the book of mormon has withstood the test of time and remains the preeminent geographic model for book of mormon events. Sorenson suggests that indicators in books text makes it inescapable that there were substantial populations in the. Book of mormon map alma 3649 the red headed hostess.
John sorenson, the geography of book of mormon events, pp. Possible book of mormon sites in relation to each other possible relationships of sites in the book of mormon, based on internal evidence. Lehis landing place book of mormon archaeological forum. Book of mormon geography in the world of joseph smith andrew h. Interactive book of mormon map virtual book of mormon. As the ancient prophet mormon edited the scriptural texts that would become the book of mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical features that comprised the setting for the events described in that book. The conceptual map of the land of the book of mormon.
The lamanite city jerusalem in the land of nephi was named by lehite migrants after the old world site from which their ancestors came alma 21. In this text, sorenson reconstructs the internal geography of the book of mormon. I recently returned from 11 days in guatemala where i collaborated with bright people such as mark wright, diane wirth, dave gray, rick callister, van dunham, neal rappleye, stephen smoot, and rolando amado. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. After attending utah state agricultural college, he enlisted in the army air corps where he was trained at the california institute of technology as a meteorologist and served in the south atlantic theater of ww ii. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. This book locates everything from the narrow neck, to zarahemla, from cumorah, to the land of promise, bountiful. Stapley i read ardis recent report on her gospel doctrine introducing the book of mormon you should too. The map, though admittedly tentative, offers three services to readers of the book of mormon. But, in fact, it is not necessary to know anything about central american archaeology to assess sorensons scheme. As far as i can recall, there was never a time from my earliest years growing up in smithfield, a village in northern utah, that i did not have an assurance that the gospel i was taught was from god and that the church of jesus christ of latterday saints was the. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic model in. The map spans jaredite and nephitelamanite periods during which settlements changed over time.
Mapping the events in the book of mormon does involve a lot of guesswork. Oct 02, 2014 finally there is a way to really explore john sorenson s book of mormon geography. Book of mormon geographymodelslimitedsorenson 1955. Mesoamerica is the only area of the americas that fits the text of the book of mormon, and actually fits it very well.
Aug 02, 2015 the tony awardwinning musical, the book of mormon, opened in salt lake city last week. Sorenson shares his research and reflections on the origins of the book of mormon peoples in mormons codex. This book of mormon map is intended to help in your personal study. Jerry grovers book, which uses geological principles to explain the occurrence of natural events in the book of mormon, is not as widely known. A limited geography model for the book of mormon is one of several theories by latter day saint movement scholars that the book s narrative was a historical record of people in a limited geographical region, rather than of the entire western hemisphere as believed by some early latter day saints. Sorenson beginning as early as 1955 i undertook to synthesize what i was learning about ancient mesoamerica that is, southern mexico and northern central america into a form intended to answer the question, how did the book of mormon account relate to the civilization that once occupied that area. As mormon edited the book of mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical features that were setting the events described in that book.
Sorenson in his book, mormons map which i recommend for anyone who would like to study what the book of mormon says about its own geography. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text. Dallin oaks on the book of mormon a mormon apostle. Facts, reason, filters and byus abstract map moronis. Sorenson suggests that indicators in the book s text makes it inescapable that. Since 1949 john sorenson has been collecting archaeological and anthropological evidence to show that joseph smith translated the book of mormon from a native mesoamerican codex, or book. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the. James sorenson mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Sorenson has been studying the relationship of the book of mormon to mesoamerica for over 60 years. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. Book of mormon 1920 salt lake city edition internet archive. After attending utah state agricultural college now utah state university, he enlisted in the army air corps, where he was trained at the california institute of technology as a meteorologist and served in the south atlantic theater of operations. Possible book of mormon sites in relation to each other. Virtual book of mormon book of mormon maps and learning.
Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, utah. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The hill cumorah in ontario county ny is the hill where joseph smith found the golden plates and is the same hill where the civilizations of the nephites cumorah and the jaredites ramah fought their last battles. 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.
The land of zarahemla is at a lower elevation relative to the land of nephi. I admit that my own model was tainted by preconceptions. Unfortunately, exploring and testing his geographic. He also serves as editor of journal of book of mormon studies. It incorporates much of what i have learned since this journey began in august, 2011. Mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from. Sorenson biography book of mormon archaeological forum. For many years the smithsonian institution in washington has received inquiries concerning the book of mormon, its role in the institutions scientific activities, and a number of specific informational questions about ancient american archaeology. What is required is that sorensons map agree with what the book of mormon tells us. The likelihood of such a setting was greatly strengthened by john l. We recommend booking etickets tickets ahead of time to secure your spot. Sorenson, when lehis party arrived in the land, did they find others there.
James levoy sorenson was a real estate magnate, inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of sorenson companies, which is the parent company of over thirty corporations. Readers of sorensons book may feel intimidated by his identification of book of mormon cities with specific archaeological sites. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. His best known book prior to this was an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, published in 1985. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Willes book of mormon studies lecture, presented september 8, 2011 on the campus of brigham young university. Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ. Oct 26, 2017 the intellectuals use the term neutral because it has a connotation of unbiased, but this internal map is based on the sorenson translation of the book of mormon, adjusted 90 degrees so it goes northsouth instead of using sorensons west means coastline theory. Publishers, 1989 for the best summary of this entire subject. This map was created by me to help bring the book of mormon stories to life. Underwater archaeology and the book of mormon in sorensons. The book makes a lot of seemingly good approximations of where the book of mormon predominately took place.
Book of mormon study map alma 127 i wanted to repost this because this is where many of you are in sunday school. See my answers to questions about the book of mormon here. The task of establishing a realistic setting for the book of mormon is a big, challenging one. Sorenson molecular genealogy foundation book of mormon and dna. The book of mormon is so self consistent in its geography and fits this area so perfectly that it really is impressive. Sorenson was born on july 30, 1921, in rexburg, idaho, to joseph levoy and emma blaser sorenson. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. The book of mormon contains the purported stories of three different groups which sailed to the americas.
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