Mormons codex is the culmination of a lifetimes labor by mormonisms preeminent mesoamerican specialist. Sorensons geographical model in his other books point to mesoamerica. 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. The book makes a lot of seemingly good approximations of where the book of mormon predominately took place. As the ancient prophet mormon edited the scriptural texts that would become the book of mormon, he must have had a map. 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. Civilizations of their magnitude and duration would be expected to leave. Sorenson was born in 1924 in smithfield, utah, where he grew up. 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. The map, though admittedly tentative, offers three services to readers of the book of mormon. Why did mormon give so many details about geography. John sorenson notes in his book, the geography of the book of mormon.
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. This map was created by me to help bring the book of mormon stories to life. John sorenson true book of mormon geography lands western. 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. 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. Many accounts of significant lands and cities are given in the book of mormon.
Having been privileged to work with him on some of. In addition to the sources cited in notes 6 and 8, see john l. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from information. Nibleys method was essentially a comparative approach, ransacking ancient literature far and wide for parallels to the book of mormon. A source book the following on page 102, this map is identical in practically all substantive details to ludlow et al. Brother sorenson proposed instead that the book of mormon took place in a limited area of mesoamerica. Sorenson 1924 founded the department of anthropology at byu and later taught as professor of anthropology there from 1971 to 1985.
Book of mormon geographymodelslimitedsorenson 1955. 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. Overwhelming complexity and consistency the book of mormon contains over 600 geographical references to over fifty separate geographical locations. 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. This is a large coffeetable book with gorgeous fullcolor pictures. An ancient american book see a video further down the page. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormon s map using information in the text. Mormons map carefully and concisely accomplishes what it sets out to do. 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. Maps true book of mormon geography lands western new. Mormon goes to the hill shim the lamanites were about to overthrow the land therefore i did go to the hill shim. Finally there is a way to really explore john sorensons book of mormon geography. Sorenson, one of the foremost students on the subject, identified over 600 passages relevant to geography.
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. In 1991, john sorenson of byu, the dean of book of mormon geography, created a book called the geography of book of mormon events. An annotated bibliography jerald and sandra tanner, covering up the black hole in the book of mormon. Clark,4 randall spackman determined that there are upwards of. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon provo. 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. This book is out of print but cheap used copies are plentiful on amazon. Raish, precolumbian contact with the americas across the oceans. John sorenson, the geography of book of mormon events, pp.
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. The book is composed of 128 pages of understandable text including seventeen maps illustrating geographical features mentioned in the text. The great white god of ancient america bom lands conference 2014 scott hoyt duration. I admit that my own model was tainted by preconceptions.
Mormon s map is book of mormon scholar john sorenson s reconstruction of that mental map solely from. 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 mormon salt lake city. Top 10 book of mormon map features book of mormon history. He ran the new world archaeological foundation from 1959 to 1987. The four seas of the book of mormon mormons in transition. 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. Sorenson were fellow graduate students at byu in the early 1950s. For the past 55 years, john sorenson has inhaled every detail of book of mormon life and history. I have tremendous respect for the many book of mormon studies john sorenson has previously written.
The only narrow neck of land book of mormon evidence. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. His map and ideas have dominated lds scholarly thinking for decades. 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. Publishers, 1989 for the best summary of this entire subject. 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. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map mormons map using information in the text. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, pp. 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. It is thorough, covers many aspects of the field, and is probably the most objective work at its time. 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. It has been accepted for inclusion in byu studies quarterly by an authorized editor of byu scholarsarchive.
Sorensons most recent compilation and discussion of book of mormon passages relating to geography. Visualizing book of mormon life mormons map mormons, scripture, and the ancient world. John sorenson, an authority on book of mormon geography, gave a lecture at olive wood books on the book of mormon, geography, and mesoamerica. 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. Mormons map is book of mormon scholar john sorensons reconstruction of that mental map solely from. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon images of ancient america.
The near identity of these three maps raises a question of directions of unattributed influence. 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. John sorensons mormons codex examines book of mormon. 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. John sorensons tehuantepeccentered model of book of mormon geography. The book of mormon describes distances as days traveled. Sorensons 1992 the geography of book of mormon events. Sorenson in his book, mormons map which i recommend for anyone who would like to study what the book of mormon.
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