Discussion regarding the historicity of the book of mormon often focuses on archaeological issues, some of which relate to the large size and the long time span of the civilizations mentioned in the book. Sorenson in his book, mormons map which i recommend for anyone who would like to study what the book of mormon. The only narrow neck of land book of mormon evidence. Book of mormon geographymodelslimitedsorenson 1955. I agree with sorenson about the importance of alma 22, as well as the utility of creating an abstract map and finding a. The book makes a lot of seemingly good approximations of where the book of mormon predominately took place. Mormon goes to the hill shim the lamanites were about to overthrow the land therefore i did go to the hill shim. Mormons codex is the culmination of a lifetimes labor by mormonisms preeminent mesoamerican specialist.
John sorenson notes in his book, the geography of the 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. Unconventional book of mormon geography theories mormon. Practically since the book of mormon was published, its geography has been the subject of discussion and debate. 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. This book is out of print but cheap used copies are plentiful on amazon. He began teaching at byu in 1963, and he later established the byus anthropology department. Mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from. An ancient american book see a video further down the page. The four seas of the book of mormon mormons in transition.
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. John sorenson, the geography of book of mormon events, pp. Raish, precolumbian contact with the americas across the oceans. Mormons 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. It was postulated by john sorenson and others that no researcher of book of mormon geography should attempt to physically place it anywhere without first extracting an internal geography model to see if the person has a thorough understanding of the text. Mormons map carefully and concisely accomplishes what it sets out to do. Sorenson, one of the foremost students on the subject, identified over 600 passages relevant to geography. The main passage mentions the land of nephi bordering on the seas, a narrow strip of wilderness, the land of zarahemla, and the headwaters of the river sidon see alma 22. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon provo. A source book the following on page 102, this map is identical in practically all substantive details to ludlow et al. In mormons map, sorenson implied that the seas could not be taken literally. Although the book of mormon is primarily a religious record of the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites, enough geographic details are embedded in the narrative to allow reconstruction of at. Clark,4 randall spackman determined that there are upwards of.
John sorensons tehuantepeccentered model of book of mormon geography. Top 10 book of mormon map features book of mormon history. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormon s map using information in the text. Having been privileged to work with him on some of. John sorenson, an authority on book of mormon geography, gave a lecture at olive wood books on the book of mormon, geography, and mesoamerica. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from. John sorensons mormons codex examines book of mormon.
Sorenson were fellow graduate students at byu in the early 1950s. In 1991, john sorenson of byu, the dean of book of mormon geography, created a book called the geography of book of mormon events. Sorenson is an emeritus professor of anthropology at brigham young university and the author of many books and articles on the book of mormon and archaeology. 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.
Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, pp. Maps true book of mormon geography lands western new. Sorenson in his book, mormon s map which i recommend for anyone who would like to study what the book of mormon says about its own geography. For the past 55 years, john sorenson has inhaled every detail of book of mormon life and history. I started this blog over a year ago, mainly in response to a document purportedly written by john sorenson about why north america cannot be the setting for the book of mormon. Sorenson was born in 1924 in smithfield, utah, where he grew up. It is thorough, covers many aspects of the field, and is probably the most objective work at its time. Brother sorenson proposed instead that the book of mormon took place in a limited area of mesoamerica. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text after years of intensive study.
Publishers, 1989 for the best summary of this entire subject. I admit that my own model was tainted by preconceptions. The map, though admittedly tentative, offers three services to readers of the book of mormon. Civilizations of their magnitude and duration would be expected to leave. His map and ideas have dominated lds scholarly thinking for decades. Nibleys method was essentially a comparative approach, ransacking ancient literature far and wide for parallels to the book of mormon. It is based on sorensons best guesses from his 1985 book an ancient american setting for the book of mormon in which he correlates nephitelamanite cities with presently known archaeological sites. Sorensons geographical model in his other books point to mesoamerica. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. A contemporary mormon view is that these civilizations rose and fell in mesoamerica. The near identity of these three maps raises a question of directions of unattributed influence.
Sorenson 1924 founded the department of anthropology at byu and later taught as professor of anthropology there from 1971 to 1985. An annotated bibliography jerald and sandra tanner, covering up the black hole in the book of mormon. In addition to the sources cited in notes 6 and 8, see john l. 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. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city. As the ancient prophet mormon edited the scriptural texts that would become the book of mormon, he must have had a map. I have tremendous respect for the many book of mormon studies john sorenson has previously written. 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.
This is a large coffeetable book with gorgeous fullcolor pictures. John sorenson true book of mormon geography lands western. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text. This map was created by me to help bring the book of mormon stories to life. The great white god of ancient america bom lands conference 2014 scott hoyt duration. Sorensons most recent compilation and discussion of book of mormon passages relating to geography. Overwhelming complexity and consistency the book of mormon contains over 600 geographical references to over fifty separate geographical locations. The book is composed of 128 pages of understandable text including seventeen maps illustrating geographical features mentioned in the text.
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. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of. Sorensons 1992 the geography of book of mormon events. Yeah, theres some text there too, but the real value is in the illustrations and photographs showing central american artwork, pottery, iconography, temples, animals, clothing, tools, weapons, people, and jungles. Visualizing book of mormon life mormons map mormons, scripture, and the ancient world. It has been accepted for inclusion in byu studies quarterly by an authorized editor of byu scholarsarchive. The book of mormon describes distances as days traveled. It was sorenson who first proposed that the scriptures action likely took place in guatemala and southern mexico, rather than encompassing both north and south america. The only way to have seas north and south on a literal or descriptive basis would be for the two major bodies of land to be oriented at an angle somewhat off true northsouth. 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 hugh nibley had been investigating the ancient near eastern background of the book of mormon for decades, but the study of its ancient american background had lagged behind.
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