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Obsidian Trade Patterns

April 11, 2016, 11:38 am
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Mark Golitko and Gary Feinman are affiliated with the Field Museum in Chicago. They have a long-time interest in obsidian (volcanic glass) because it was widely traded throughout Mesoamerica, there are a limited number of sources, and individual specimens can be chemically traced back to their source. This allows the creation of accurate, although not necessarily comprehensive trade maps. Golitko and Feinman recently published an article entitled "Procurement and Distribution of Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Obsidian 900 BC - AD 1520: a Social Network Analysis" in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2015) 22:206-247. This is the first time a pan-Mesoamerica map of obsidian trade patterns based on statistically significant sample sizes has been attempted. Actually, the article has 6 maps by time period:
  • Middle Preclassic (900 - 300 BC) This was the end of the Jaredites and the beginning of the Nephites, Mulekites and Lamanites.
  • Late Preclassic (250 BC - AD 250) Most of the Book of Mormon narrative occurred during this era.
  • Early to Middle Classic (AD 300 - 600) This was the end of the Nephites and the fluorescence of the Lamanites, Teotihuacan apogee.
  • Late Classic (AD 600 - 900) Maya fluorescence.
  • Early Postclassic (AD 900 - 1200) Widespread collapse, Toltec resurgence.
  • Late Postclassic (AD 1200 - 1520) Aztec empire.
These maps are based on large data sets derived from hundreds of individual archaeological investigations, so the data is difficult to impugn. There is bias toward sites that have had lithic analysis performed, but almost everyone nowadays does lithics when they dig a site. The fascinating results generally corroborate the January 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Map.

This is the Golitko/Feinman map of obsidian sources.
Mesoamerican Obsidian Outcroppings
And this is their map of trading activity in the Middle Preclassic (900 - 300 BC) with the proposed city of Nephi (Kaminaljuyu - See the article "Kaminaljuyu") #1, John L. Sorenson's proposed Zarahemla (Santa Rosa) #2, and Garth Norman's proposed Zarahemla (Nueva Esperanza - Calatraba) #3 identified. Darker lines represent stronger trading relationships.
Mesoamerican Obsidian Trade 900 - 300 BC
Nephi (Kaminaljuyu) #1
Sorenson's Zarahemla (Santa Rosa) #2
Norman's Zarahemla (Nueva Esperanza - Calatraba) #3
Culturally:
  • People were trading between points hundreds of kilometers distant from each other.
  • The Isthmus of Tehuantepec was a cultural boundary.
  • Olmec influence was stronger in the Mezcalapa - Grijalva drainage basin than in the Usumacinta basin.
  • People moved between highland Guatemala and the Maya lowlands via the Salama Valley and the Pasion River drainage.
  • The Pacific coast of Chiapas (Soconusco) was a very active trade corridor.
  • The Tuxtla Mountains region was important.
These are likely Book of Mormon implications:
  • Movement between the proposed land of first inheritance along the Pacific coast of Chiapas and the proposed land of Nephi in highland Guatemala is well attested.
  • The proposed land northward/land southward boundary along the Coatzacoalcos works well with this data.  
  • The isolation narrative where the Nephites in Nephi and the Mulekites in Zarahemla were unaware of each other's existence during this time period works for Norman's Zarahemla. It is contradicted by the data for Sorenson's Zarahemla.
  • The Coriantumr as a stranger narrative where no one among the Mulekites could read his stone stela during this time period works to some extent for Norman's Zarahemla. It is contradicted by the data for Sorenson's Zarahemla.
  • The Jaredites fought their final battle in the Tuxtla Mountain region near the end of this time period.
Based on Middle Preclassic obsidian trade patterns, Norman's candidate could have been Zarahemla. Sorenson's candidate is highly unlikely to have been Zarahemla. (Parenthetically, Hauck's candidate in the Salama area is simply out of the question.)

Moving on to the Late Preclassic (250 BC - AD 250) the map looks very different.
Mesoamerican Obsidian Trade 250 BC - AD 250
Culturally:
  • The Olmec were gone.
  • The Mezcalapa - Grijalva drainage had become marginalized into a hinterland. Not much happening along the Gulf Coast or Yucatan.
  • Highland Guatemala continued strong ties with the Maya lowlands including the Caribbean coast.
  • The Pacific coast of Chiapas (Soconosco) was still an active trade corridor.
  • Kaminaljuyu had declined in importance.
  • The Maya west around Palenque had come on strong.
  • Most of the action was east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
  • Major activity between the Usumacinta and the Caribbean.
Likely Book of Mormon implications:
  • The Jaredites were gone.
  • The Mezcalapa - Grijalva drainage, the Gulf Coast, and Yucatan were big blank spots on the map according to the January 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Model.
  • Travel and communication between the greater land of Nephi (highland Guatemala) and the greater land of Zarahemla (southern Maya lowlands) had become routine.
  • Lamanites in large numbers lived in former Nephite lands in the land southward.
  • Zarahemla (Palenque region) rose in importance.
  • The Nephites, Mulekites and Lamanites were beginning to settle the land northward, but most of the action was still in the land southward.
  • Settlements were located from the central Sidon corridor to the east sea. 
Norman's Zarahemla fits beautifully in this scenario. Sorenson's Zarahemla does not fit at all. (Hauck's Zarahemla is a poor fit.)

The Early to Middle Classic map looks like this:
Mesoamerican Obsidian Trade AD 300 - 600
Culturally: 
  • The Maya were ascending toward apogee.
  • The Valley of Oaxaca was coming on strong.
  • Teotihuacan was an influence across the entire region.
  • The upper Mezcalapa - Grijalva was experiencing a resurgence, although the middle and lower reaches of the drainage system remained a hinterland.
  • Still not much along the Gulf Coast or in Yucatan.
  • The Tuxtla Mountains area had become important again.
  • The Pacific coast of Chiapas remained a major communication route.
  • The area around Los Horcones became strategic.
Likely Book of Mormon implications:
  • The Nephites established a significant presence in the city of Desolation (Los Horcones - Tonala area).
  • From there they went to the land of Cumorah (Tuxtla Mountains area).
  • The Nephites could not flee northward past Cumorah because Teotihuacan blocked their escape. They were caught in a vise.
  • Major blank spots on the Nephite map were the Gulf Coast and Yucatan.
Any of the three possible Zarahemlas would fit the data during this time period.
Conclusion: Norman's proposed Zarahemla is the only location that fits the obsidian trade pattern data well in all three time periods. The January 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Map uses Norman's Zarahemla. This data strongly corroborates our proposed Book of Mormon map at many points and on many levels.
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Smoking Gun

April 29, 2016, 9:59 am
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I have begun reading an impressive book that provides smoking gun evidence to solve the Book of Mormon New World correlation conundrum.
Smoking Gun: Scientific Evidence Highly
Favoring a Particular Theory
The book is entitled Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. It was co-published in 2010 by Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) and Yale University Press. Editors are Daniel Finamore of PEM and Stephen D. Houston of Brown University.
Significant Book on the Maya and the Sea
The book accompanied a major museum exhibition displayed at PEM (Salem, MA) and the Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, TX) in 2010 followed by the Saint Louis Art Museum (St. Louis, MO) in 2011. Contributors to the volume are a veritable who's who of contemporary Maya scholars. Pieces in the exhibit came from major museums in Europe and the Americas.

No place in the ancient Maya world was more than 260 kilometers (160 miles) from the open ocean.
Circle with 258 Kilometer Radius
The sea was a much larger component of daily life and thought among the Maya than has heretofore been recognized.

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Art and Iconography 1

May 11, 2016, 8:50 am
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Texts shed the most light on the ancient world. They reconstruct to a small degree the words and word patterns that fell from the lips of the people who lived and died in that world. The next most important source of information from antiquity is art and iconography. Graphical and symbolic representations give us a visual picture of ancient life and belief systems. Artifacts offer the fewest insights. They are often quotidian rather than elite. Much of what they tell us comes from context which is frequently uncontrolled or even unknown. Important questions such as occurrence frequency and spatial distribution depend on large enough sample sizes to achieve statistical significance. Function is often ambiguous. Recall the famous quip among archaeologists that "if you don't know what something was used for, call it a ritual object."

Given the fragmentary nature of archaeological data, find frequencies are in inverse proportion to importance. In the Maya world, for example, we have millions of artifacts, tens of thousands of art objects, and only a few thousand texts. Those same ratios are typical of ancient high cultures worldwide.

The Book of Mormon is a text. It sheds vast light on the ancient world. It reconstructs to a small degree the words and word patterns that fell from the lips of remarkable people such as Nephi, Alma, Helaman, Mormon, and Moroni. Some articles on this blog have productively compared it with other ancient texts. See for example:
Notable for it absence on the list above is Popol Vuh, generally recognized as the most important ancient Maya text currently available. Stay tuned. One of the reasons Popol Vuh is so highly regarded is that echoes of and references to its creation myth are found widely throughout Mesoamerica. See the article "Iconographic Corroboration of Quichean Texts."

In the last 40 years, decipherment of written Mayan has advanced rapidly. Fundamental resources in this effort have been the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions (CMHI) at Harvard and Justin Kerr's database of rollout photography. Epigraphers' ability to read Maya texts has enabled art historians to interpret carved monuments, painted pottery, sculpted figurines, etc. with increasing confidence.

This series of articles will not compare the Book of Mormon text with other texts. It will compare the Book of Mormon text with the second most important category of ancient data - artistic and iconographic images. You can read a National Geographic article or you can look at the images and read the captions. This presentation is like the latter.

Sources for the images are listed in order of first publication.

1973 V. Garth Norman, Izapa Sculpture Part 1: Album, Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation No. 30 (Provo, UT: BYU NWAF)

1976 V. Garth Norman, Izapa Sculpture Part 2: Text, Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation No. 30 (Provo, UT: BYU NWAF)

1986 Lee Allen Parsons, The Origins of Maya Art: Monumental Stone Sculpture of Kaminaljuyui, Guatemala, and the Southern Pacific Coast, Studies in Pre-Columbian Art & Archaeology No. 28 (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection)

2006 Julia Guernsey, Ritual & Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press)

2010 Julia Guernsey, John E. Clark, Barbara Arroyo, editors, The Place of Stone Monuments: Context, Use, and Meaning in Mesoamerica's Preclassic Transition (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection)

2012 V. Garth Norman, Izapa Sacred Space: Sculpture Calendar Codex (American Fork, UT: ARCON, Inc.)

2013 Lucia Ross Henderson, Bodies Politic, Bodies in Stone: Imagery of the Human and the Divine in the Sculpture of Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala (PhD dissertation, UT Austin). Dozens of parallels between the Book of Mormon and Henderson's excellent description of ancient life are in the article "Kaminaljuyu."

1 Nephi 10:8 Shoes had latchets which are thongs or laces.
Shoes with Latchets Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 67
Henderson 2013 p. 621
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2 Nephi 13:21 Some people wore ornaments in their noses.
Nose Ornament Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 24
Henderson 2013 p. 612
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Enos 1:20 Lamanites wore a short skin girdle about their loins.
Girdle Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 65
Henderson 2013 p. 619
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Mosiah 17:13 Abinadi was bound, his skin was scourged (the Yale 2009 text reads "scorched") with burning faggots, and this excruciating torture resulted in his death.
Torture by Faggots
Figurine from Campeche
Henderson 2013 Fig. 29 a-b 
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Alma 17:20 Captives were bound.
Bound Captive Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 65
Henderson 2013 p. 619
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Alma 47:23 A hand gesture had symbolic meaning.
Hand Gesture Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 65
Henderson 2013 p. 619
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Alma 60:7 Rulers sat on thrones.
Ruler Sitting on Throne Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 65
Henderson 2013 p. 619

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Helaman 11:13 Rain is under divine control.
Rain Gods Pouring Water out of Vessels Madrid Codex p. 27
Henderson 2013 Fig. 85
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Mormon 4:14 Lamanites sacrificed Nephite children.
Baby in Offering Bowl Justin Kerr #K4384
Henderson 2013 Fig. 40 b
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Mormon 9:32 Nephites wrote using Egyptian-like characters.
Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 10 Lower Text
Henderson 2013 Fig. 10 g
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Ether 2:24 Wind comes from the mouth of God.
Animate Wind Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 14
Henderson 2013 Fig. 146 b
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Ether 9:5 Akish decapitated his father-in-law, Jared, in a violent coup.
Severed Head in Offering Bowl Justin Kerr #K759
Henderson 2013 Fig. 34 a
--
Ether 14:28 Trumpets were used by military forces at the time of the Jaredite collapse.
Wind Instrument Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 75
Henderson 2013 Fig. 21
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Art and Iconography 2

May 17, 2016, 1:21 am
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This post is a continuation of the theme developed in the article "Art and Iconography 1." The story of Moses raising the brazen serpent as a type of Christ was important enough to Book of Mormon peoples that a variant of it appears at least seven times in the text. Eight narrative motifs are standardized across these relevant passages.

1 Nephi 17:41
a. flying serpents
b. bitten
c. healed
d. look

1 Nephi 19:10
b. crucified
e. lifted up
f. three days

2 Nephi 25:13
a. wings
b. crucify
c. healing, saved
e. rise from the dead
f. three days

2 Nephi 25:20
a. poisonous serpents
b. bitten
c. heal the nations
d. cast eyes upon
e. raise up
g. serpent

Alma 33:19-23
c. live, heal
d. look, casting about your eyes, behold
e. raised up
h. tree, springing up in you

Helaman 8:14-15
c. live
d. look
e. lifted up
g. brazen serpent

3 Nephi 27:14-15
e. lifted up
h. cross

Izapa Stela 25 has a fascinating version of all eight motifs blended with Popol Vuh mythology.
Izapa Stela 25
Norman 1973 Plate 42
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Art and Iconography 3

May 23, 2016, 11:29 pm
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This post is a continuation of the theme developed in the articles "Art and Iconography 1" and "Art and Iconography 2." The tree of life as a type of Christ and a tree as a symbol of the house of Israel are important themes in the Book of Mormon. This article will explore the complex iconography of Izapa Stela 5 and compare it with details in the Book of Mormon. First, though, since Izapa Stela 5 has proven controversial within Book of Mormon studies circles, we need to document the accuracy of our images.
Izapa Stela 5
1941 Matthew W. Stirling Expedition Photo
The original of the image above is a large format black and white print of a photo taken on the 1941 Matthew W. Stirling National Geographic - Smithsonian expedition that discovered Stela 5 in situ in the Izapa Group A plaza. The large stone at this point was freshly dug out of the ground. Stirling himself gave this print to BYU Professor M. Wells Jakeman in 1961 and it lay in his (Jakeman's) files for decades. Notice the crease marks where the paper was folded. When Jakeman died in 1998, his papers passed to V. Garth Norman and Bruce W. Warren of Ancient America Foundation (AAF), successor to Jakeman's Society for Early Historic Archaeology (SEHA). I (Kirk Magleby) took this digital image of the print at Garth Norman's home in American Fork, Utah on October 3, 2011. I used it once before in the article entitled "V Garth Norman in Mexico City."
Stirling's Note Explaining his Gift to Jakeman
This is the image Stirling published in 1943.
Izapa Stela 5
Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 138 Plate 52
This is the image with tracing Garth Norman published in 1973.
Izapa Stela 5
New World Archaeological Foundation Paper No. 30 Part 1 Plate 10
And this is an RTI (Reflective Transformation Imaging) photo Jason Jones made in 2012 as part of the Izapa 3D digital imaging project. See the article "Imaging Izapa."
Izapa Stela 5 RTI Image
Norman, Izapa Sacred Space: Sculpture Calendar Codex p. 272
For context on the seriously flawed 1999 Clark, Moreno "new artistic rendering" of Izapa Stela 5 see the articles "V Garth Norman in Mexico City," and especially "Partake of the Fruit." This article will follow the mainline Stirling - Norman - Jones imagery and eschew the aberrant Clark, Moreno "re-interpretation." Izapa specialist Julia Guernsey took the same approach. See her 2006 Ritual & Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art (Austin: University of Texas Press) fig. 1.3.
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Art and Iconography 4

July 2, 2016, 10:56 am
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This post is a continuation of the material developed in the articles "Art and Iconography 1,""Art and Iconography 2," and "Art and Iconography 3." V. Garth Norman, the LDS Mesoamericanist most experienced at Izapa, contributed to this article.

The tree of life as a type of Christ and a tree as a symbol of the house of Israel are important themes in the Book of Mormon. This article will explore the complex iconography of Izapa Stela 5 and compare it with details in Popol Vuh, the Book of Mormon, and other ancient artistic portrayals. First, though, since Izapa Stela 5 has been controversial within Book of Mormon studies circles, we need to document the accuracy of our images.
Izapa Stela 5
1941 Matthew W Stirling Expedition Photo
The original of the image above is a large format black and white print of a photo taken on the 1941 Matthew W. Stirling National Geographic - Smithsonian expedition that examined Stela 5 in situ in the Izapa Group A plaza associated with Altar 36. The large stone had only been dug out of the ground in 1939 and in this photo was not yet severely eroded through weathering as it is today. Stirling himself gave this print to BYU Professor M. Wells Jakeman in 1961 and it lay in his (Jakeman's) files for decades. Notice the crease marks where the paper was folded. When Jakeman died in 1998, his papers passed to V. Garth Norman and Bruce W. Warren of Ancient America Foundation (AAF), successor to Jakeman's Society for Early Historic Archaeology (SEHA). I (Kirk Magleby) took this digital image of the print at Garth Norman's home in American Fork, Utah on May 24, 2011. I used it once before in the blog article entitled "V Garth Norman in Mexico City."
Stirling's Note Explaining his Gift to Jakeman
This is the image Stirling published in 1943.
Izapa Stela 5
Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 138 Plate 52
This is the NWAF image with tracing Garth Norman published in 1973.
Izapa Stela 5
New World Archaeological Foundation Paper No. 30 Part 1 Plate 10
And this is an RTI (Reflective Transformation Imaging) photo Jason Jones made in 2012 as part of the Izapa 3D digital imaging project. See the article "Imaging Izapa." This advanced visualization technique confirms the accuracy of the NWAF 1973 drawings.
Izapa Stela 5 RTI Image
Norman, Izapa Sacred Space: Sculpture Calendar Codex p. 272
For context on the seriously flawed 1999 Clark, Moreno "new artistic rendering" of Izapa Stela 5 see the articles "V Garth Norman in Mexico City," and especially "Partake of the Fruit." This article will follow the mainstream Stirling - Norman - Jones imagery and eschew the aberrant Clark, Moreno "re-interpretation." Izapa specialist Julia Guernsey took the same approach. See her 2006 Ritual & Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art (Austin: University of Texas Press) fig. 1.3.

Current scholarship dates Izapa Stela 5 to ca. 300 BC.

Popol Vuh imagery. After their deaths in Xibalba, the Hero Twins' bones were ground up and scattered along a river. The boys resurrected as catfish before their apotheosis which transformed Hunahpu into the sun and Xbalanque into the moon. Twin terrestrial fish are facing up, each with a fruit of the tree in their mouth. After divinization they are looking down from the sky panel as gods often do in Mesoamerican pre-classic sculpted scenes. As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.
Twin Fish Before and After Apotheosis
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Lehi 1 Nephi 8:10, Nephi 1 Nephi 11:8, Isaiah 2 Nephi 16:13, Jacob Jacob 4:6, Zenos Jacob 5:3, Mormon Mosiah 18:5, Alma Alma 5:62, Ammon Alma 26:36, Jesus Christ 3 Nephi 14:18, and Moroni Ether 2:17 all mention trees. The word "tree" occurs 119 times in the text.
A Central Tree Dominates the Scene on Izapa Stela 5
This sacral tree connects heaven and earth. Its roots are in the ground panel and its branches reach into the sky panel. Nephi associates the tree with God 1 Nephi 11:25 who explicitly reigns in the heavens above and the earth beneath  Mosiah 4:9.

The Book of Mormon describes the tree of life 1 Nephi 8:10 and the tree representing Israel Jacob 5:8 as fruit-bearing.
Fruit in the Tree
Some people partook of the fruit of the tree 1 Nephi 8:16.
Figure Holding Fruit of the Tree
Others did not partake of the fruit of the tree 1 Nephi 8:35.
Figure without Fruit
Mockers pointed fingers toward people partaking of the fruit 1 Nephi 8:27.
Person Pointing Fingers toward Figure Partaking of the Fruit
The tree symbolizing the House of Israel was extensively grafted 1 Nephi 10:14, Jacob 5:8.
Grafts in the Tree
The tree represented the house of Israel 1 Nephi 10:12 with its twelve tribes 1 Nephi 12:9.
Twelve Tree Roots
Isaiah associated clouds with rain 2 Nephi 15:6.
Cloud with Rain
A fountain of water was associated with the tree 1 Nephi 8:20, 1 Nephi 11:25 and with the river 1 Nephi 12:16.
Source of River Water
Lehi and Nephi saw a river of water running near the tree 1 Nephi 8:13, 1 Nephi 12:16.
River of Water Running Near the Tree
A similar water motif adorns a stone basin on display in the Israel Museum.
Stone Basin, Israel Museum
Photo by Kirk Magleby, June 22, 2016
The Book of Mormon describes water under the earth Mosiah 13:12 as a river representing the depths of hell 1 Nephi 12:16.
River of Water Flowing under the Ground Panel
In Lehi's and Nephi's visions, some of the people associated with the tree were blinded 1 Nephi 12:17 by a mist of darkness 1 Nephi 8:23.
Hood over Head of Blinded Person
The text describes people catching hold, clinging 1 Nephi 8:24 and feeling their way 1 Nephi 8:31.
Person Clinging, Feeling their Way
Both Lehi 1 Nephi 8:5-6 and Nephi 1 Nephi 11:21 were guided to the tree by angelic ministrants.
Winged Divine Beings Attending the Tree
Tree of Life depictions from the ancient Near East also show dual supernatural beings.
Stylized Date Palm Tree of Life Flanked by Winged Genies
Calah (Nimrud) Assyria 883-859 BC Alabaster, Reign of Ashurnasirpal II
Israel Museum, Photo by Kirk Magleby June 22, 2016
After beholding the tree, Nephi was instructed to bear witness of deity 1 Nephi 11:7.
Deity's Foot Connected to Priest's Mouth via Reverse Speech Scroll
Nephi wrote about his father's vision of the tree 1 Nephi 8:30.
Priest Holding a Brush, Chisel, or Stylus in Left Hand
Nephi engraved his record on plates 1 Nephi 9:2.
Plate or Tablet
Nephi founded a kingly dynasty Jacob 1:11.
Parasol or Canopy, Ancient Mesoamerican Royal Emblem
A similar parasol or canopy symbol represented royalty in the ancient Near East.
Bronze Coin of King Agrippa I Minted in Jerusalem ca. 42 AD
Jerusalem Archaeological Park, Photo by Kirk Magleby June 23, 2016 
Royal parasol over the head of Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Shalmaneser III reigned immediately after Ashurnasirpal II referenced above.
Black Obelisk, ca. 841 BC, British Museum
This is a well-known classic Maya example of a broken parasol in a captive's right hand as he is dominated by Bird Jaguar IV. 
Yaxchilan Lintel 16 from Structure 21 ca. AD 752
A strait (the Yale 2009 text reads "straight") and narrow path led by the head of the fountain and to the tree 1 Nephi 8:20-22.
Path Leading from the Fountain to the Tree
The path also led by a rod of iron 1 Nephi 8:20 which extended along the bank of the river and led to the tree 1 Nephi 8:19.
Rod a) by Path, b) along River, c) Leading to the Tree
Lehi offered sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord 1 Nephi 2:7, 1 Nephi 5:9, 1 Nephi 7:22.
Aged Priest Tends Flaming Altar or Incensario
Isaiah associated flaming fire and smoke with deity 2 Nephi 14:5.
Flaming Fire and Smoke Rising from Altar or Incensario
Alma taught the curious notion that humans and trees can grow together Alma 32:42. For more on this topic, see the article "Anthropomorphic Trees."
Human/Tree Fusion
Isaiah talked about a rod or branch symbolic of the Savior growing from a tree stem or roots 2 Nephi 21:1.
Rod or Branch Extending from Tree Trunk 
In the Book of Mormon, deity is described with avian characteristics 2 Nephi 4:25, 2 Nephi 25:13, 3 Nephi 10:4-6, 3 Nephi 25:2.
Supernatural Beings with Bird Beaks and Wings
The Book of Mormon explicitly mentions six mortals associated with the tree of life: Sariah, Lehi, Laman, Lemuel, Nephi, and Sam 1 Nephi 8:14-17.
Six Humans Seated on the Ground Panel 
In Lehi's dream narrative, two antagonists are disinterested in the tree and its fruit 1 Nephi 8:35-36.
Two Humans Facing Away with Backs to the Tree
The Book of Mormon records significant discourses by both Lehi and Nephi 2 Nephi 1:1.
Index Finger Gesture, Ancient Mesoamerican Speech Symbol
Lucia Henderson in her dissertation entitled "Bodies Politic, Bodies in Stone: Imagery of the Human and the Divine in the Sculpture of Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala, UT Austin, 2013" discusses this pointed finger gesture on pages 215, 216. Scholars such as Julia Guernsey, Karl Taube, William Saturno, and David Stuart describe it as a convention denoting approbation, speech and discourse. This is what the motif looks like on Kaminaljuyu Monument 65.
Index Finger Gesture, Enthroned Rulers, Kaminaljuyu Monument 65
Museo Miraflores, Guatemala City, Photo by Kirk Magleby, December 27, 2015
The Book of Mormon describes girdles about loins 2 Nephi 15:27, 2 Nephi 21:5.
Girdles about Loins
We see a similar girdle or sash about the loins of Jehu, King of Israel.
Black Obelisk, ca. 841 BC, British Museum
Other similarities between Stela 5 and the Black Obelisk are obvious. For example, fringed garments as in Numbers 15:38-39, Deuteronomy 22:12.
Fringed Garments
Fringed apparel from ancient Israel.
Black Obelisk, ca. 841 BC, British Museum
We also see similar headgear consistent with Leviticus 10:6, Leviticus 21:10.
Conical Hats on Aged Priest and Acolyte
Conical Hat on Jehu, King of Israel.
Black Obelisk, ca. 841 BC, British Museum
Finally, the forward swept beards are similar cf. 2 Nephi 17:20.
Forward Swept Beard on Aged Priest
Forward swept beard on Jehu, King of Israel.
Black Obelisk, ca. 841 BC, British Museum
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Four Sides, Four Quarters, and a Center

July 16, 2016, 3:14 pm
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The Book of Mormon describes its world as having four sides aligned with the four cardinal directions Mosiah 27:6, 3 Nephi 1:17. It also describes its world as having four quarters Alma 43:26, Alma 52:10. The Nephites described their focal point as the heart Helaman 1:18 or center Helaman 1:25-27 of their land. Furthermore, they perceived themselves inhabiting a single isle of the sea 2 Nephi 10:20-21 nearly surrounded by water Alma 22:32 with salt water on every side Helaman 3:8. For more context see the blog articles "Test #5 North South East and West" and "Smoking Gun."

A beautiful portrayal of this worldview was found at Masada where a replica hangs in the Visitor Center.
Replica of Mosaic, Masada, Israel Photo by Kirk Magleby June 20, 2016
This wall hanging shows four sides, four quarters, and a center all surrounded by water.

Corresponding depictions are found throughout the Americas. This is a museum replica of the well-known Inca Chakana.
Chakana from Museo Larco, Lima, Peru in Kirk Magleby's Collection
A very similar version of this symbol is on the Lanzon at the Temple of Chavin. It is attested in Andean art from Chavin  through Inca times (2nd millennium BC - European contact).

The same idea is expressed on the striking Hopewell Wheel displayed in the Ohio History Connection Museum in Columbus.
Hopewell Copper Wheel First Millennium AD
As we would expect, this worldview was widely portrayed throughout Mesoamerica. This is a pre-columbian representation thought to have originated in Veracruz.
Codex Fejervary-Mayer now in the World Museum, Liverpool, England
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State Level Society

July 19, 2016, 11:08 pm
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Anthropologists use criteria to distinguish tribal societies from more sophisticated civilizations that reach state level. These criteria include:
  • Social stratification. Tribal societies develop a chiefly elite who outrank commoners. State level societies have complex social class hierarchies, each with different access to resources. Alma 51:8, 3 Nephi 6:12.
  • Dense populations. Tribal societies settle extensively across their ecosystems. State level societies support intensive populations. Omni 1:17, Ether 7:11. 
  • Urbanization. Tribal societies build hamlets and villages with occasional towns at particularly favorable sites such as the confluence of two rivers. State level societies build large, well-organized cities and city states. Mosiah 27:6, Helaman 7:22.
  • Food surpluses. Tribal societies subsist on hunting, agriculture, and extractive industries. State level societies produce surplus food that gets re-distributed to urban centers. Alma 1:29, Helaman 6:12.
  • Labor specialization. People in tribal societies tend to work in homogeneous occupations closely tied to nature. State level societies produce artisans Mosiah 11:10, lawyers Alma 10:15, merchants 3 Nephi 6:11, etc. who work in a wide variety of vocations.
  • Centralized government. Tribal societies organize along kinship lines. State level societies develop formal ruling institutions Alma 11:2 where shared ideologies Mosiah 29:39 allow elites to control power Mosiah 29:2.
  • Controlled trade. Tribal societies engage in long-distance trade of exotic goods. In state level societies, elites control trading networks to maximize their wealth Ether 10:22.
  • Public works. Tribal societies erect stones and heap up dirt. State level societies build monumental architecture such as palaces Mosiah 11:9, pyramids Mosiah 11:12, temples Alma 16:3, roads 3 Nephi 6:8, markets Helaman 7:10, etc.
  • Written records. Tribal societies communicate verbally and with ideograms. State level societies use writing systems Mosiah 28:11, develop widespread literacy Alma 46:19, and maintain record archives Jarom 1:14, Helaman 3:15.
  • Symbolic art. Tribal societies produce naturalistic art. State level societies portray symbol complexes representing abstract or theological ideas 1 Nephi 11:7-11, Alma 32:28.
  • Intellectual disciplines. Tribal societies orally transmit traditional wisdom. State level societies develop organized branches of knowledge such as biology Alma 46:40, physics Helaman 12:15, mathematics Alma 11:5-19, etc.
  • Standing armies. Tribal societies muster attackers or defenders based on perceived vulnerabilities or threats. State level societies maintain a professional military apparatus Alma 2:13, Alma 62:43.
  • Organized religion. Tribal societies have shamans, councils, and localized rituals. State level societies develop a priestly class overseeing religious institutions Mosiah 25:21-23, Alma 6:1.
One word commonly associated with tribal societies is "tradition." One word commonly associated with state level societies is "command." Nephite writers often associated Lamanites with traditions as in Mosiah 1:5, Alma 9:16, and Helaman 15:4. Nephite writers often associated Nephites and deity with commands as in Alma 5:61, Helaman 14:9 and 3 Nephi 23:13. Another word commonly associated with tribal societies is "identity." A word commonly associated with state level societies is "institution."

As they increase in complexity, tribes become chiefdoms and states become empires.
    The Book of Mormon unequivocally describes state level society, as well as the precise moment when complex Nephite government degenerated into tribalism 3 Nephi 7:2-4.

    A useful summary of  tribal societies and states in our modern world was written by David Ronfeldt in 2006. Entitled "In Search of How Societies Work: Tribes, the First and Forever Form," it was published as a working paper by the Rand Corporation's Pardee Center. In light of Ronfeldt's analysis, the Book of Mormon is stunningly accurate in its portrayal of tribal social dynamics:
    • Page 1 The tribal form is based on kinship. 3 Nephi 7:2.
    • Page 17 External depredation causes societies to tribalize. 3 Nephi 7:6.
    • Page 20 Evil influences spread quickly through tribal societies. 3 Nephi 7:7-8.
    • Page 35 Tribes form alliances with other tribes. 3 Nephi 7:14.
    • Page 42 Tribes severely divide and separate members from non-members. 3 Nephi 7:2.
    • Page 43 Tribes have difficulty addressing problems of power. 3 Nephi 7:18.
    • Page 46 Tribes appoint a chief. 3 Nephi 7:3.
    • Page 46 In tribal societies, war is never far away. 3 Nephi 7:14.
    • Page 46 Tribal chieftains exercise centralized authority. 3 Nephi 7:14.
    • Page 61 Failed states degrade into tribes. 3 Nephi 7:2.
    • Page 71 Tribes enforce very strict rules. 3 Nephi 7:14.
    Two images illustrate the stark difference between tribal and state level societies. The first comes from the remarkable Ohio History Connection Museum in Columbus. It is a collage of Hopewell artifacts assembled for a 2014 exhibition entitled "Top Ten Masterpieces of the Hopewell Culture."
    Outstanding Hopewell Artifacts
    The artifacts portray a raptor's talons, bear, heron, bird in flight, human head, and wheel design. The wheel is symbolic. See the article "Four Sides, Four Quarters, and a Center." The other pieces are art drawn from nature. No qualified anthropologist on the planet would describe the society that created these objects as a state. This assemblage is diagnostically characteristic of tribalism.

    Now compare the Hopewell collection with an image from the Museo del Sitio at Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.
    Palenque Glyphs
    Anthropologists worldwide recognize that classic lowland Maya society achieved state level.

    State level society cannot be created out of whole cloth, not can it be explained away. A society either has it or it doesn't. State level societies leave unmistakable traces that scientists recognize. No North American culture known to science achieved state level society during Book of Mormon times. Several Mesoamerican cultures achieved state level societies during Book of Mormon times. John L. Sorenson succinctly summed up the situation: "Only one area in ancient America had cities and books: Mesoamerica."Mormon's Codex p. 21.
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    Frauds and Hoaxes

    July 26, 2016, 9:33 pm
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    In the latter 1970's, I spent three years as Dr. Paul R. Cheesman's research assistant. During that time, his office was ground zero for most things Book of Mormon within the Church. One day we got word that President Kimball's office had a set of metal plates purported to be the brass plates of Laban mentioned in the Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 3:3. They arrived in our office a few days later and it fell to me to determine if they were authentic or not. One look told me they were modern fakes, but I gave them the benefit of every doubt. They came with a wild story attached.

    A family, recently baptized in England, had supposedly inherited the plates from a mysterious ancestor who had discovered them in a cave in Peru in the 1800's. The Mission President in England thought they were genuine ancient artifacts because the family appeared to have altruistic motives. He arranged for the plates to be shipped to Salt Lake. Dr. Cheesman, who was a big fan of metal plates, thought they might be genuine ancient artifacts because they were shiny and 1 Nephi 5:19 says the brass plates of Laban would never be dimmed by time.

    I cataloged all the characters engraved on the plates and compared them with known ancient language character sets. The number of correlates were trivial. I plotted the frequency of character repetition and compared that with examples from known ancient languages. The repetition pattern was more random than I would have expected. I sent one of the plates to the metallurgy lab at Geneva Steel. They determined it was cold rolled brass plate manufactured in Birmingham, England between 1920 and World War II. They further determined that the markings were engraved by someone hammering on a tempered steel cold chisel.

    As I was writing my report, the English donor family visited us. They had met Pres. Kimball and been feted for a few days in Salt Lake before coming to BYU where the hospitality continued. I got to spend a couple of hours with them asking questions about the supposed expedition to Peru. They showed me a letter purportedly from their explorer ancestor describing other artifacts still in the Peruvian cave, including more engraved metal plates. The letter referenced a secret map identifying the location of the treasure. They gave me a "urim and thummin" which they had tried unsuccessfully to give to Pres. Kimball. It was a costume jewelry necklace that included a couple of large glass balls. It was obvious the family hoped I would get excited about the other artifacts reportedly still hidden in Peru. My report predicted that upon their return to England, they would ask for money to mount a new Peruvian expedition.

    They returned to England and sure enough, asked for a large yacht and funds to finance several years of South American travel because they had just "found" the surreptitious treasure map. Of course the Church denied their request since their motive now unmasked the fraud. The family immediately went inactive. I hope they enjoyed their all expense paid trip to Utah.

    Unfortunately, we saw many other cases of fakery during my years with Dr. Cheesman. Some came from Mexico, others from all over the U.S. All had a price tag attached. Many came with the tantalizing promise that there were more "artifacts" where these had come from, but only the person requesting funds knew where to find them. The dark art of forging "antiquities" to dupe gullible Mormons was alive and well in the 1970's.

    Joseph Smith had to deal with similar nonsense. See the August, 1981 Ensign article by Stanley B. Kimball entitled "Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax."

    Because the Book of Mormon is often considered a forgery by those who do not know it well, we as Latter-day Saints should be fastidious to avoid frauds and hoaxes as we deal with questions of its historicity.

    These "artifacts" and many others are known fakes:
    • Newark Holy Stones, aka Decalogue Stone on display in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton, OH.
    • Las Lunas Decalogue Stone, aka Las Lunas Mystery Stone about 56 kilometers south of Albuquerque, NM.
    • Soper-Savage collection aka Michigan relics currently in the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing, MI.
    How do we know these controversial "antiquities" are forgeries? They are out of context. Genuine artifacts relate to their surroundings in discernible, reproducible ways. Frauds do not fit their environment. An excellent book was published by Bob Bennett, former US Senator from Utah, in 2009. Entitled Leap of Faith: Confronting the Origins of the Book of Mormon, it analyzes famous forgery cases, detailing the techniques used by forensic law enforcement officers to distinguish frauds from genuine documents. Bennett's methodology is germane to any discussion of one-off eccentric "artifacts" that enter into the Book of Mormon conversation.

    Unfortunately, Mormons with more zeal than knowledge (Hugh Nibley's phrase) sometimes promote fake antiquities as they talk about the Book of Mormon. That is the reason the Lord tells us to seek wisdom "out of the best books"D&C 88:118 through disciplined learning. Articles, periodicals, books, and other media divide into these categories:
    • Junk science. Speculation by non specialists.
    • Pseudo science. Arguments by people working outside their field of expertise.
    • Science. Work done by trained specialists in their chosen discipline.
    Since the 1970's, my radar screen is always on the lookout for junk science. It has no useful place in Book of Mormon studies. In the words of Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "a bad argument is worse than no argument at all." People who promote forged "antiquities" do much more harm than good. Eventually the naive people who believe them will suffer a betrayal narrative.

    What is the common denominator behind frauds and hoaxes? Money. The Newark Holy Stones generated revenue as "curiosities" in the nineteenth century and more than 150 years later people are still going to Coshocton, OH and paying good money to see them in a private museum. How many magazines, books and documentaries promoting the Las Lunas Decalogue Stone have been sold? The Soper-Savage "discoveries" generated a cash flow to the perpetrators for decades.

    While I am on the subject of lies, it is not helpful to the cause of the Book of Mormon around the world to have for-profit enterprises masquerading as non-profits. The LDS Church is a genuine non-profit that goes to great lengths to separate its commercial business holdings in for-profit legal silos. BYU and BYU Studies are non-profit. FARMS was non-profit. FAIR Mormon, Interpreter Foundation, and Book of Mormon Central are all legitimate non-profit charitable institutions. People who register .org domains or use the term "foundation" when in reality they are for-profit corporations or LLC's are being disingenuous and doing a dis-service to the body of believers. The Book of Mormon deserves better.

    Characteristics of the literature promoting frauds and hoaxes:

    • Proof texting. This is the practice of spot reading material, focusing only on the parts that support a pre-conceived notion.
    • Obsolete citations. Archaeology, with good reason, favors the most recent reports because science is continually improving.
    • Uncredentialed sources. Many lay people dabbling in technical disciplines lack the background necessary to be source critical.
    • Isolates and eccentrics. Artifacts that do not fit cultural patterns known to science are always dubious. Items of unknown or questionable provenience are less useful than material found in situ under controlled conditions.
    • Conspiracy theories. People who allege widespread conspiratorial data suppression are often outsiders with limited understanding of how academic or scientific organizations work. Departments, institutions, and entire disciplines do have biases, but academic freedom is the norm and paradigm-shifting interpretations are often celebrated.
    So, if you see people not presenting both sides of the story, citing lots of very old sources, relying heavily on non-professionals, promoting items that do not fit known cultural patterns, and talking about data that is being systematically suppressed, there is a high likelihood they are dealing in frauds and hoaxes.
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      Textual Progress

      August 6, 2016, 7:26 am
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      August 2 & 3, 2016 Book of Mormon Central convened a working group to consider the sense of meaning of a number of passages in the text whose interpretations have proven controversial. The verses at issue are listed in the article "Problematic Passages." The group consisted of:
      • Joe V. Andersen, Arizona attorney who has written many articles about Book of Mormon geography. Joe has recently co-authored several pieces with Ted D. Stoddard.
      • Stan Carmack, Massachusetts philologist who has spent years studying and writing about the grammar and syntax of the earliest (Yale 2009) text. Stan works with Royal Skousen.
      • Eric Eliason, member of the BYU English faculty who specializes in folklore and the Bible as literature. Eric edited Mormons and Mormonism, University of Illinois Press, 2001.
      • Grant Hardy, member of the University of North Carolina, Asheville History faculty. Grant is the editor of The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition, University of Illinois Press, 2003. He is the author of Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide, Oxford University Press, 2010.
      • Heather Hardy, who collaborates with and edits her husband's work. Heather is a specialist in Book of Mormon - Biblical intertextuality. 
      • Kirk Magleby, author of this blog and Book of Mormon Central's Exec. Director.
      • Alan Miner, author of Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon and A Chronology of Thought on Book of Mormon Geography. Alan's current passion is parallelistic formatting of the text.
      • Neal Rappleye, Book of Mormon Central's Operations Manager. Neal has presented on various methodological approaches to Book of Mormon geography.
      • Richard D. Rust, emeritus member of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill English faculty. Richard is the author of Feasting on the Word: The Literary Testimony of the Book of Mormon. He was a prolific contributor to FARMS publications.
      • Royal Skousen, member of the BYU Linguistics faculty and editor of The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, Yale University Press, 2009. Royal has directed the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project since 1988.
      • Julie M. Smith, biblical scholar, is the author of Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels. Julie is authoring the volume on the Gospel of Mark for the BYU New Testament Commentary series.
      • Robert F. Smith, Hebrew scholar, edited the first Book of Mormon Critical Text published by FARMS in 1984 - 1987. Bob also participated in the Book of Mormon geography group convened by David A. Palmer in the 1970's.
      • John W. Welch, member of the BYU Law faculty, is generally considered the leading Book of Mormon scholar alive today. He also has significant expertise in the Greek New Testament. Jack founded FARMS, has edited BYU Studies for 25 years, and chairs Book of Mormon Central. He helps lead the BYU New Testament Commentary and the Academy for Temple Studies. He is a specialist in ancient law.
      Participants were chosen for their demonstrated ability to closely read English texts. Many others could have been invited, but we purposely limited the size of the group. The intent of the conclave was to see if these people, working together with good will for two days, could shed light on the most likely interpretation of some Book of Mormon verses that cause much of the geographical turmoil in the world today. That goal proved elusive. There are several viable ways to read some passages in the text. The Book of Mormon contains propagandist hyperbole as does the Bible. There is so much potential intertextuality between the Bible and the Book of Mormon that until we have thoroughly analyzed this fundamental feature of the text, convincing interpretations of some passages are premature. The words we read today may have been authored to resonate with people familiar with the Psalms, for example, or Deuteronomy. Some parts of the text are clearly symbolic or formulaic and other parts may be. The literal approach I have taken in the article "Book of Mormon Lands Map January 2016" and throughout this blog is one way to read the text. Other approaches are not only possible but likely to yield persuasive readings.

      We did manage to reach general agreement on some key points.
      • In a relative hierarchy of classes of evidence, the text itself, subject to interpretation, must be primary. There has been no authoritative revelation on Book of Mormon geography in this dispensation. Revelation to the current Prophet could trump the text, but only if it carried the same degree of certainty as the words Joseph received through the seer stone.
      • The phrase "running from the east towards the west" in Alma 22:27 most likely refers to the narrow strip of wilderness rather than the river Sidon.
      • The words "only the distance of a day and a half's journey for a Nephite" in Alma 22:32 most likely refers to a Nephite convention rather than the extreme performance of an elite athlete.
      • The phrase "down into the borders of the land Manti" in Alma 43:32 refers to travel from the valley west of Sidon where Captain Moroni hid part of his army. Relating this phrase to Jershon which is mentioned several verses before (Alma 43:25) is an incorrect forced reading.
      • The pass mentioned in Alma 62:24 was an entrance into or out of the walled city of Nephihah. See Alma 49:18-22 for similar verbiage describing the walled city of Noah. Interpreting the pass as a natural topographic feature is most likely incorrect.
      • The events described in Alma 62:24-38 occurred within a time period of weeks or months as part of Mormon's annual summary for the 31st year of the reign of the judges which begins in verse 12. Attempting to compress all this action into a single 24 hour period based on the words "awoke" in Alma 62:24 and "on the morrow" in Alma 62:38 is an incorrect forced reading.
      The implications of these likely interpretations are:
        • River Sidon flows generally south - north rather than east - west.
        • The narrow strip of wilderness runs generally east - west.
        • The boundary line between Bountiful on the south and Desolation on the north is relatively short. The distance across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (216 air kilometers) is too long to be the place Alma 22:32 is referring to.
        • The notion that River Sidon flows from north to south is not supported in the text. River Sidon flows from south to north just as Book of Mormon scholars have been saying since the 1800's.
        • The land between Nephihah and Moroni is not necessarily mountainous.
        • The notion that the Nephite east coast was significantly shorter than the west coast is not supported in the text. Both coasts may have similar lengths.
        We did not achieve general agreement on these important issues:
        • cardinal directionality.
        • whether the four seas mentioned in Helaman 3:8 are literal or metaphorical. 
        A useful analogy emerged. Book of Mormon geography is a 1,000 piece puzzle. We only have 150 of the pieces and we don't have a picture on the box to follow. Some of the pieces we do have fit together which gives us confidence that over time a generally accepted solution will emerge.

        Given that some ambiguity is inherent in this text, we came up with a methodology that is likely to advance the state of the art in Book of Mormon geography. We intend to build a website where proponents of various models can advocate their positions point by point and respond to feedback. Invited reviewers can indicate whether they agree or disagree with each point and state their reasons why. Interested parties of good will will have a path to follow to become an insider, propose a model, or write reviews. I talked with Blake J. Allen at the FairMormon Conference. He and his father, Joe, have created a very good model based on decades of boots-on-the-ground experience in Mesoamerica. Blake is willing to advocate his model and interact with reviewers on the proposed website. If a handful of others are willing to do the same, we will see progress.
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        Joseph Smith in One Question

        August 9, 2016, 11:53 pm
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        Like most Latter-day Saints of my generation, I grew up with a sanitized, out sized Joseph Smith as a persecuted demigod who worked endless streams of wonders against tall odds in his short 38 1/2 years on earth. I did not worship the man, but I was in awe of him as I still am. As I matured and developed a more nuanced view of my prophet, I had an abiding curiosity to know more about Joseph the man. Todd Compton and I were classmates at BYU. When his In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith came out in 1997, I was taken aback for a time. My respect for the prophet never waned, but I had even more desire to understand what made him tick.

        When Richard Bushman's Rough Stone Rolling: Joseph Smith: A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder appeared in 2005, I became a Bushman groupie. I attended his lectures from Provo to Ogden, asking many questions and carefully weighing his responses. Bushman had a deep understanding of the prophet that I was anxious to absorb. In the end, one sentence from Bushman helped me understand who Joseph really was. Bushman said, "Joseph sucked the air out of every room he ever entered." Joseph was such a powerful presence that no one else held a candle to him. He was supremely confident, without peer. It was always Joseph and the seven dwarfs. People hung on his every word. He had an opinion about and a ready answer for everything. He was often attacked from afar but seldom contradicted in person. That made sense to me given the nature of Joseph's interaction with deity and the divine.

        A few weeks ago I was privileged to spend time with Mike MacKay of the BYU Religion faculty. He worked on the Joseph Smith Papers Project and authored the very important From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon. I asked MacKay how he would characterize Joseph the man. "Joseph had a green thumb for religion" was his reply. As he shared examples of what he meant, I came to understand that post 1829 Joseph consciously fit every person, place, or thing he ever encountered into his expansive religious vision somewhere. That prompted me to ask MacKay one important question: "Did Joseph ever say 'I don't know'?""No" was his quick reply.

        In our current era of internet-inspired transparency, we hear the brethren say "We don't know" frequently. See for example, Pres. Uchtdorf's frank talk entitled "Come, Join with Us" in October, 2013 General Conference or the Gospel Topics Essays such as "Book of Mormon and DNA Studies." Top scholars say "I don't know" all the time. "I don't know" is a fundamental situation endemic to the human condition.

        One result from Joseph's tendency to never say "I don't know" were the 1834 Zion's Camp tales about Zelph, Onandagus, and the plains of the Nephites associated with Naples-Russell Mound 8 near Griggsville, Pike County, Illinois. See the 1989 article by Kenneth W. Godfrey entitled "The Zelph Story." Was the germ of the variant Zelph accounts revelation to the prophet? Was it well-meaning speculation? As with so much of the extra-canonical material attributed to Joseph Smith, we don't know.
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        Central Locations

        August 11, 2016, 12:27 am
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        I was at the Jerusalem Archaeological Park (Davidson Center) in June and saw this striking visual depicting the old city at the crossroads of 3 continents.
        Jerusalem as Continental Axis
        Photo by Kirk Magleby June 23, 2016
        From this originating point, the blood of Israel and Christ's influence spread over much of the earth. This was an ideal location for the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant to extend to every nation, kindred, tongue and people as Nephi foresaw 2 Nephi 26:12-13.

        Now consider where an ideal location would be in the New World for the blood of Israel and Christ's influence to spread over much of the earth in ancient times.
        Mesoamerica as Continental Axis
        The formulaic phrase "all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people" occurs 16 times in the text exclusive of the testimonies of the witnesses and Moroni's instructions to the prophet Joseph. The Book of Mormon writers cared about wide dissemination. In pre-Colombian times Mesoamerica was the crossroads of the western hemisphere with significant communication, trade, and emigration contact both northward and southward.
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        1830 Americas

        August 15, 2016, 8:36 pm
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        Occasionally Latter-day Saints reference modern nations in Book of Mormon discussions. It is instructive to understand what the Americas looked like in 1830 when the text first went on  sale to the public.
        Sovereign Nations in the Americas in 1830
        The white area represents the 24 states of the United States of America. The blue area represents Mexico. The red area represents the Federal Republic of Central America. The green area represents Great Colombia. All of modern-day Canada was a British colony as was Belize, then called British Honduras. The territory in modern-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho was contested between Great Britain and the US, as was northern Maine.

        How the countries ranked in approximate area:
        1. Mexico 4.4 million square kilometers
        2. Great Colombia 2.8 million square kilometers
        3. United States 2.2 million square kilometers
        4. Federal Republic of Central America 429,000 square kilometers

        How the countries ranked in estimated population:
        1. United States 13 million
        2. Mexico 6 million
        3. Great Colombia 2 million
        4. Federal Republic of Central America 1 million

        Year the countries declared independence:
        1. United States 1776
        2. Great Colombia 1810
        3. Mexico 1810
        4. Federal Republic of Central America 1821

        Wars of Independence:
        1. United States 1776 - 1781
        2. Mexico 1810 - 1821
        3. Great Colombia 1810 - 1822

        Year slavery was abolished:
        1. Federal Republic of Central America 1824
        2. Mexico 1824
        3. Colombia 1851
        4. United States 1865

        Many of the Book of Mormon passages that some associate with the United States of America apply equally well to Latin America.
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        Voyages of Columbus

        August 16, 2016, 6:26 pm
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        1 Nephi 13:12 is often interpreted as referring to Christopher Columbus. Columbus made four voyages to the New World between 1492 and 1504. This is a simplified map of the four expeditions.
        4 Voyages of Christopher Columbus 1492 - 1504
        This is a more detailed map of the first expedition.
        Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1492 - 1493
        The second expedition.
        Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1493 - 1496
        The third expedition.
        Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1498 - 1500
        The fourth expedition.
        Voyage of Christopher Columbus 1502 - 1504
        If 1 Nephi 13:12 really does refer to Columbus, then the seed of Nephi's brethren, the Lamanites, inhabited Central America, South America, and the Caribbean at European contact and those areas were part of the Book of Mormon promised land.
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        Chiasmus Day 2016

        August 16, 2016, 6:41 pm
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        Today, August 16, 2016, marks the 49th anniversary of Jack Welch's discovery of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon. 49 years was a biblical 7 X 7 jubilee cycle. Here are seven things we did to commemorate:
        Look for even more exciting developments next year as we celebrate the 50th anniversary.

        The article "Chiasmus Day" has additional context.
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          KnoWhy App

          August 19, 2016, 7:01 am
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          The new KnoWhy app from Book of Mormon Central is generating favorable response from many people. It debuted at BYU Education Week two days ago. KnoWhys are brief essays about some interesting aspect of the Book of Mormon published frequently. Each essay has a Know portion explaining insights from the text, and a Why portion explaining significance or personal application. Well-illustrated, KnoWhys draw on the best LDS scholarship from the last 60 years to engage students in an immersive learning experience. Each KnoWhy starts with a question about a passage and provides one or more faithful answers in an attractively-packaged format including an audio podcast and a short YouTube video.

          We began publishing KnoWhys on January 1, 2016. Today we published #169 about the Levitical laws of vessel impurity which shed light on Alma 60:23. The organizing principle behind KnoWhys in 2016 is one essay per chapter. We are working our way through the Book of Mormon, roughly following the Gospel Doctrine lesson sequence.

          KnoWhys begin in brainstorming sessions. Ideas that show promise are then worked into a draft which is reviewed by John W. (Jack) Welch, generally regarded as the foremost Book of Mormon scholar of our generation. Drafts are then polished, edited, and formatted, at which time they are reviewed by a panel of volunteers who provide feedback which often gets incorporated into the final product. A script is written summarizing each KnoWhy. Illustrations are gathered. Professional voice talents record each full-length essay as a podcast and each short script as the voice track for a video. Each KnoWhy then goes into video production and on the appointed day gets published in about a dozen social media channels.

          A KnoWhy is like a gold brick in a Fort Knox vault. Eventually there will be thousands. Collectively they constitute a veritable treasure trove of information about the Book of Mormon. Go to your app store, search for "knowhy" and download your free key to the vault from the Apple iTunes Store or the Google Play Store.
          KnoWhy App Icon on Android
          After launching the app, the first thing you see is a list of KnoWhys.
          List of KnoWhys
          Tapping on a KnoWhy downloads its content, including the YouTube link.
          KnoWhy Content
          Book of Mormon Central was built to help people come unto Christ by feasting on His word. The KnoWhy app is one way this will happen.
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          Moroni Day 2016

          September 1, 2016, 1:20 pm
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          On or near autumnal equinox 1823, the Angel Moroni first appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and told him about records engraved on gold plates.

          On or near autumnal equinox 1827, the Angel Moroni gave Joseph a set of plates having the appearance of gold.

          The value of the records contained on the gold plates far exceeded their worth as precious metal or pre-Columbian cultural artifact.

          On or near autumnal equinox 2016, Book of Mormon Central will celebrate Moroni Day with a fundraising reception in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square. As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.
          Moroni Day 2016 Invitation
          If you are able and willing to support Book of Mormon Central financially, please join us. Those unable to attend the physical event will have a chance to experience Moroni Day virtually and donate shortly after September 23. Contributions are tax-deductible.

          A 2 page PDF of the invitation is available for viewing or download here. Please share as appropriate.

          Many more of God's children would benefit if they immersed themselves in the Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 32:3, Ether 4:11.
          Avard T. Fairbanks' Moroni
          Supporting well-designed, impactful Book of Mormon projects will help.
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          October Conference 2016

          October 1, 2016, 5:01 pm
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          Pres. Ucthdorf opened the Saturday morning session with several Book of Mormon citations and allusions.
          • "As we become more familiar with something, even something miraculous and awe-inspiring, we lose our sense of awe and treat it as commonplace."
          • "We are surrounded by such an astonishing wealth of light and truth that I wonder if we truly appreciate what we have." I am reminded of the 199 KnoWhys we have published at Book of Mormon Central since January 1, 2016.
          • "How could it ever be possible that we of all people would not be excited about ... or get tired of reading the Holy Scriptures?" 
          • "...gratitude and awe for the sacred and sublime gifts God has granted us."
          • "We can look forward to what Moroni called 'the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah'"Moroni 10:34. Royal Skousen in the Yale 2009 text renders this and Jacob 6:13 as "pleading bar" referring to a courtroom fixture derived from English jurisprudence.
          • "Does it not fill our minds with wonder and awe to contemplate the great plan of happiness?"Alma 42:8
          • "Does it not fill us with unspeakable joy?"Helaman 5:44 which is intertextual with 1 Peter 1:8.
          • "Can ye feel so now?"Alma 5:26
          Pres. Ucthdorf mentioned the Belfast Coat of Arms.
          Belfast, Northern Ireland Coat of Arms
          The Belfast motto "What shall we give in return for so much?" derives from Psalms 116:2. I am reminded of our Moroni Day 2016 celebration recently concluded where dozens of people contributed financially to help Book of Mormon Central share the Nephite text with the world in engaging ways.

          Other Book of Mormon references:
          Elder Craig C. Christensen began his talk quoting Moroni who told the Prophet, Joseph, that his "name should be had for good and evil among all nations."Joseph Smith History 1:33. Book of Mormon Central currently engages about 40,000 people per day in dozens of countries with well-researched and well-packaged scholarship that extols Joseph Smith and vindicates his mission as a Prophet. We noticed last week that an anti-Mormon group has recently set up a vaguely similar apparatus to criticize Joseph and denigrate his mission as a Prophet. Moroni's prophecy is being fulfilled. Elder Christensen referenced "the great plan of redemption"Jacob 6:8 and Alma 34:31. "For many of us, a witness of the Prophet, Joseph, begins as we read the Book of Mormon." Elder Christensen's own conversion story followed that pattern.

          Elder Christensen called the Book of Mormon the impetus for some of Joseph's questions that led to restored truth and saving ordinances. John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood is one example. Next year's Gospel Doctrine lessons will focus on Church History and the Doctrine and Covenants. The Book of Mormon can be seen as a template, almost a handbook of instructions, for many of the ordinances and organizations we follow in the contemporary Church. Joseph and Emma lost their first child, Alvin, the same day he was born on June 15, 1828 in Harmony, Pennsylvania. Elder Christensen's reading of Moroni 8:11-24 in light of their loss is instructive. Interpreting 2 Nephi 3:6-15 as referring to Joseph Smith Sr. and Joseph Smith, Jr. does cause one to wonder how the Prophet reacted when he came to that ancient prophecy about himself and his mighty ministry like unto Moses. Describing Joseph's impressive accomplishments after 1829 and his increasing legacy, Elder Christensen asked "Is not the fulfillment of this prophecy compelling evidence of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith?""Because Joseph was a prophet, we have witness upon witness, testimony upon testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the World," fulfilling 1 Nephi 13:40.      
          Elder Gary E. Stevenson in his Saturday afternoon address "Look to the Book, Look to the Lord" told the story of Mary Elizabeth Rollins who loved the Book of Mormon from the moment she first held it in her hands in 1830. The image that displayed on TV during this portion of Elder Stevenson's talk was a 2012 painting of Mary Elizabeth by outstanding Orem, Utah artist Elspeth Young.
          "Growing Light" by Elspeth Young
          Sister Young has a similar 2012 painting, also of Mary Elizabeth reading the Book of Mormon, entitled "The Treasure."
          "The Treasure" by Elspeth Young
          Both works are part of the Pioneer Fine Art Collection by the remarkable artists of Al Young Studios.

          Mary Elizabeth went on to rescue parts of the Book of Commandments when anti-Mormon mobs destroyed W.W. Phelps' printing press in Independence, Missouri in 1833. Something of a painter herself, she became a plural wife of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. She died in Utah in 1913, the last surviving plural wife of the Prophet, Joseph.

          The family members who make up Al Young Studios (Elspeth is Al's daughter) have a special affection for the Book of Mormon. Their "Heroes of the Book of Mormon" series has some of the finest art pieces ever painted on the subject. Al's 2009 book entitled "My Father's Captivity" is one of the most moving testimonies of the Book of Mormon you are likely to read.

          Meanwhile, Elder Stevenson continued in his talk to cite Mormon 8:35 where Moroni saw us in vision. This passage was not illustrated on TV, but Glery Becerra has two 2010 pieces interpreting this verse. The first shows Moroni as an ancient epigrapher across a table from Becerra's own daughter who is working on her testimony of the Book of Mormon.
          "The Lord Has Shown You Unto Me" by Glery Becerra
          The second has the same Moroni, but this time it is Becerra's son across the table.
          "The Lord Has Shown You Unto Me" by Glery Becerra
          More information is at http://www.glerybecerra.com/
          ↧

          Ramah/Cumorah

          October 31, 2016, 12:16 am
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          On a certain hill, probably somewhere in Veracruz, Mexico, two nations met their demise through large-scale warfare. The Jaredites self-destructed in factional civil war ca. 220 B.C. The Nephites were annihilated by the Lamanites ca. A.D. 385. The hill was called "Ramah" Ether 15:11 which in Hebrew means "elevation, height." The hill was also called "Cumorah"Mormon 6:2-11 which may share an etymology with Hill Comron (Yale 2009 Critical Text orthography) Ether 14:28. Variant spellings of "Cumorah" in the Printer's Manuscript include "Camorah" and "Comorah." Several possible meanings for Cumorah have been proposed (see Book of Mormon Onomasticon, article "Cumorah") including:
          • hill
          • ruin mound or heap, piled-up corpses
          • priesthood, priest, priestess
          • desolate, God-destroyed place (if cognate with Gomorrah)
          • light arises
          Ramah/Cumorah is geographically associated with hill Shim Ether 9:3, Mormon 1:3, Mormon 4:23 and the extensive waters of Ripliancum Ether 15:8. It is also described as "the place where the Nephites were destroyed"Ether 9:3. Cumorah was a land Mormon 6:2-4 as well as a hill. Limhi's exploring party Mosiah 8:7-11, Mosiah 21:25-26 visited the land of Cumorah within decades of the Jaredite destruction and returned to the city of Nephi bearing artifacts including Ether's 24 gold plates Ether 1:2 that were later abridged Ether 15:33 by Moroni. How do we know that only decades and not centuries elapsed from the Jaredite holocaust to the arrival of Limhi's 43 explorers? Because Limhi's men found human and animal bones Mosiah 8:8 in a state of decomposition Mosiah 21:26-27 but still recognizable as vertebrate remains. Exposed bones may last for decades, but not centuries in most environments. Complete skeletal decomposition can occur in as few as 10 - 15 years in warm, moist, shady, aerobic conditions.

          A hill is something we may reasonably expect to find on a modern map. The text gives us enough information about Ramah/Cumorah to enable intelligent searching. These hills in Tamaulipas, Oaxaca, and Veracruz have been seriously studied and proposed as candidates:
          Proposed Ramah/Cumorah Locations
          As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.

          An expedition is currently underway led by the intrepid and indefatigable Warren Aston. A three man team is systematically exploring each of the proposed Ramah/Cumorah candidates and analyzing it in light of relevant textual criteria. My proposed criteria are itemized 1 - 29 below.

          Ramah/Cumorah is a hill, not a mountain. In the text, mountains and hills are of the same genre Helaman 12:9, 3 Nephi 4:1, but mountains are more massive 2 Nephi 4:25, 2 Nephi 12:2, 14. The Book of Mormon only once uses an adjective to modify "hill," and that sense is diminutive 2 Nephi 15:1. Mountains on the other hand are frequently modified with adjectives emphasizing their grandeur Helaman 14:23, 3 Nephi 8:10. The word "mountain" itself is even used as an adjective implying large size Ether 2:24, Ether 6:6. On the small end of the scale, a hill can be man-made 2 Nephi 17:25. So, Ramah/Cumorah has larger and higher mountains 1 in its environment.

          Ramah/Cumorah is a singularity, as are the other nine named hills (Amnihu, Comron, Ephraim, Jerusalem, Manti, North of Shilom, Onidah, Riplah, Shim) in the text. "Mount" and "hill" are used similarly, almost interchangeably 2 Nephi 20:32. Four mounts are named (Antipas, Shelem, Sinai, Zion), Shelem being noteworthy for its elevation. Hills and mounts with names are always in the singular. Mountains, on the other hand, are often in the plural 1 Nephi 12:4, Jacob 4:6, Helaman 11:25. One mountain, Zerin, is named Ether 12:30 and it clearly was an isolate rather than a contiguous chain. Other discrete mountains are similarly referenced with singular pronouns Helaman 10:9, Helaman 12:17, 3 Nephi 8:10. This means Ramah/Cumorah is self-contained 2 rather than part of an extended mountain range.

          Ramah/Cumorah was in the Nephite land northward 3 Mormon 2:29, Ether 1:1. This places it in a location prone to seismic and volcanic activity 43 Nephi 8:12.

          Ramah/Cumorah is in a land with high average annual rainfall 5Mormon 6:4. There are so many well-watered areas in southern Mexico that in order for waters, rivers, and fountains to be useful differentiators, Ramah/Cumorah must be near more arid territory 6.

          Ramah/Cumorah was in a land that afforded the Nephites a potential advantage 7 over their enemies Mormon 6:4. That advantage was probably due to crop yields or access to other food resources such as fish. It may also have come from tactically favorable terrain or access to materials for armament fabrication. The advantage probably did not come from man-made fortifications which are not mentioned again in the text after the city of Desolation was abandoned ca. A.D. 362 Mormon 3:6.

          Eastward from Ramah/Cumorah is a seacoast 8Ether 9:3. From the hill to the sea one does not cross over any significant natural barriers 9 such as a mountain or river. This implies proximity to the sea 10.

          Northward from Ramah/Cumorah is a relatively large body of water 11 the Nephites called Ripliancum Ether 15:8-11.

          Ramah/Cumorah is large enough that 230,000 people could encamp around it for a period of months Mormon 6:4. Allowing 25 square meters of space per person, that means a refugee camp with an area of 5,750,000 square meters or 575 hectares 12. The Nephites camped around about the hill. As we have noted elsewhere in the text Alma 48:8, Alma 62:34, the phrase "round about" implies circularity. The hill likely has a roughly circular shape 13. The fact that the people were living in tents at year end Mormon 6:5 implies a mild climate 14.

          The names "Riplah" and Ripliancum" are probably linguistically related as the Book of Mormon Onomasticon suggests. Moroni himself defines "Ripliancum" as meaning "large, or to exceed all"Ether 15:8. This suggests that Riplah also may mean massive, abundant, or surpassing. See the blog article "Hill Riplah" where we correlate it with Cerro Pampache, the largest detached hill in highland Guatemala. Based on this etymology, it is likely that Ramah/Cumorah is significantly smaller 15 than Riplah.

          The doomed Nephites had a clear view of approaching Lamanite armies Mormon 6:7. This means Ramah/Cumorah is surrounded by plains 16. The hill and surrounding plains are compact enough 17 that Lamanite armies could leave camp, climb part way up the hill, slaughter 230,000 people, climb back down the hill, and return to their camps within a single 24 hour period Mormon 6:11.

          Ramah/Cumorah was high enough 18 and symmetrical enough 19 that from the summit Mormon and Moroni could view nearly a quarter of a million corpses spread across the entire field of battle Mormon 6:11-15.

          Ramah/Cumorah was a significant landmark 20 known to both the Nephites and Lamanites Mormon 6:2-3.

          Shim is a second hill, probably westward 21 from Ramah/Cumorah Ether 9:3. Some natural barrier 22 such as a mountain or river separated the two so travelers had to come over from one to the other.

          The Nephites in their final decades retreated northward Mormon 2:3 and finally abandoned the land southward completely Mormon 2:29. It seems odd, then, that Nephite survivors of the final battle fled from Ramah/Cumorah southward where they were all promptly killed by Lamanites Mormon 6:15, Mormon 8:2. Why did the survivors not flee northward? Why did the entire Nephite nation not simply migrate en masse northward as many before them had done Alma 63:4, Helaman 3:3? Some force northward 23 from Ramah/Cumorah was so powerful and threatening that Nephite refugees preferred to flee southward and take their chances among Lamanites bent on their destruction Mormon 8:7.

          Ca. 121 B.C., an exploring party left the city of Nephi, traveled to the Ramah/Cumorah area, found Ether's 24 gold plates, returned to Nephi with artifacts, and reported that they had found the ruins of the destroyed land of Zarahemla Mosiah 8:7-11, Mosiah 21:25-27. King Limhi did not doubt their report, which is one of the reasons he received Ammon so joyously Mosiah 7:14, Mosiah 21:24. Zeniff had made the round trip from Nephi to Zarahemla twice in sizable companies. Zeniff was a record-keeper Mosiah 25:5 as was his grandson, Limhi Mosiah 28:11. As Limhi's 43 explorers left Nephi bound for Zarahemla, they almost certainly had some idea about:
          • the general direction of travel from Nephi to Zarahemla
          • the approximate distance from Nephi to Zarahemla
          • the approximate elevation of Zarahemla relative to Nephi
          • Zarahemla's location west of river Sidon
          • Zarahemla's location relative to mountains, fall line, coastal plain, and the sea
          The blog article "Test #8 Limhi Expedition" describes these relationships in some detail. For our present purposes, we deduce the following criteria for Ramah/Cumorah and its adjacent land of Cumorah:
          • it should be in the same general direction from Nephi 24 as Zarahemla.
          • its air distance from Nephi should be between .5X and 2X the Nephi - Zarahemla distance 25.
          • its elevation should be roughly similar to Zarahemla's 26.
          • it should be west of a large, north-flowing river 27.
          • it should be in a similar location as Zarahemla relative to mountains, fall line, coastal plain, and the sea 28.
          Climate is the most likely reason the Zeniff colony made the irrational decision to return to Nephi shortly after escaping to Zarahemla for safety. See the blog article "Asking the Right Questions" question #12. See also the blog article "Water Fight on the River - Round Twelve" and the article "Test #9 River Sidon" point #37. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to expect that the Ramah/Cumorah area and Zarahemla have similar climates 29 very different from Nephi's.
          --
          After considering these 29 proposed criteria, I believe the correlate that best fits the text is 1,180 meter Cerro San Martin (not Volcan San Martin which is an active volcano) in the Tuxtlas of southern Veracruz. Cerro Vigia, I suggest, is a good candidate for hill Shim.
          Cerro San Martin in Context
          This correlation may change after I have a chance to debrief Warren Aston's current expedition.
          --
          1. We set a semi-opaque terrain plane at 700 meters. All points higher than that show through in natural color.
          Tuxtlas with 700 Meter Terrain Plane
          Cerro San Martin is clearly a hill with much higher and larger mountainous massifs in its immediate environment. Criterion 1 satisfied.

          2. We lower the terrain plane to 300 meters and zoom in on Cerro San Martin.
          Cerro San Martin with 300 Meter Terrain Plane
          The hill is a discrete unit surrounded on all sides by plains. Criterion 2 satisfied.

          3. We along with many other Book of Mormon mapmakers consider the main channel of the Coatzacoalcos a likely candidate for part of the land northward/land southward boundary.
          Proposed Lands Northward/Southward Border Along the Coatzacoalcos
          Cerro San Martin is in our Nephite land northward. Criterion 3 satisfied.

          4. This map of volcanoes active in the Holocene Epoch (last 10,000 years) is from the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project.
          Mesoamerican Volcanoes Active in the Holocene
          And this map of earthquakes in the last 116 years registering magnitudes 4.5 or higher is from USGS.
          Significant Mesoamerican Earthquakes 1900-2016
          Cerro San Martin is in an area that experiences both volcanism and seismic activity. Criterion 4 satisfied.

          5, 6. These isobars showing average annual rainfall are from INEGI.
          Average Annual Precipitation
          Cerro San Martin averages over 4,000 millimeters of precipitation annually, making it one of the wettest places in Mexico. Only 60 air kilometers away is a much drier area that receives less than 1/3 that amount of rainfall. Criteria 5& 6 satisfied.

          7. Cerro San Martin is surrounded by rich cropland, grassland, and tropical forest. It is 5 km from the seacoast and 30 km from freshwater Lake Catemaco where more than 1,000 licensed commercial fisherman earn their livelihood casting small nets on its waters. Deer are plentiful in the region. Large quantities of snails are harvested commercially for food. This is a bountiful area with a potentially high carrying capacity.
          Ecology of Eastern Tuxtlas
          Military strategists could imagine many battle scenarios where the heavily fluted slopes of Cerro San Martin would offer high ground advantage to the defenders in combat.
          Topography of Cerro San Martin, Google Maps Terrain Layer
          Criterion 7 satisfied.

          8. Five kilometers eastward from Cerro San Martin lies the Gulf of Mexico.
          Eastward to the Sea
          Criterion 8 satisfied.

          9, 10. Zooming in, we find no natural barriers a traveler would have to cross over to go the short distance from Cerro San Martin to the sea.
          Unobstructed Travel from the Hill to the Sea
          Criteria 9& 10 satisfied.

          11. The Papaloapan is the second largest river in Mexico by discharge volume. Many Book of Mormon geographers, ourselves included, consider the extensive wetlands near its mouth to be the Waters of Ripliancum. They are the second largest wetlands in Mexico, and the largest in the territory we correlate with the Nephite land northward. This map shows our river network superimposed on an INEGI map of permanent bodies of water.
          Proposed Waters of Ripliancum WNW from Cerro San Martin
          Criterion 11 satisfied.

          12. We superimpose a rough quadrangle with an area of 575 hectares on top of Cerro San Martin. Of course, the actual surface area of the hill is much greater due to folding, but this crude graphic shows that a hill the size of Cerro San Martin is in the ballpark of reasonableness for hosting a refugee camp with nearly a quarter of a million displaced persons.
          575 Hectares Relative to Cerro San Martin
          Criterion 12 satisfied.

          13. Cerro San Martin is roughly circular in shape as this terrain plane set to 500 meters clearly shows.
          Classic Conical Volcano
          Criterion 13 satisfied.

          14. Coatzacoalcos is a major city about 30 kilometers from Cerro San Martin. These are the average annual high and low temperatures for Coatzacoalcos as reported by World Weather Online.
          Average High and Low Temperatures near Cerro San Martin
          The coldest month is January whose average low is 19 Celsius or 66 Fahrenheit. Criterion 14 satisfied.

          15. Cerro San Martin is 1,180 meters high and has an area of approximately 15 square kilometers.
          Rough Outline of Cerro San Martin
          Our correlate for hill Riplah is Cerro Pampache in Alta Verapaz, 2,060 meters high with an area of approximately 220 square kilometers. For more details on Cerro Pampache, see the article "Hill Riplah."
          Rough Outline of Cerro Pampache
          Our Ramah/Cumorah is much smaller than our Riplah. Criterion 15 satisfied.

          16. Cerro San Martin is surrounded by level ground sloping outward as this topographical map shows.
          Cerro San Martin and Environs
          The clear sight lines Mormon describes are possible in this terrain. Criterion 16 satisfied.

          17. If the invading Lamanite armies camped about where the towns of Pajapan and Tatahuicapan are today, they would have been 3 - 5 kilometers from the base of the hill.
          Distance from Pajapan to Cerro San Martin
          The scenario described in Mormon chapter 6 is viable in this location. Criterion 17 satisfied.

          18, 19. From the 1,180 meter summit of Cerro San Martin, Mormon and Moroni would have had a clear view of the battlefield below. Concentric circles show the distance from the summit in 1 kilometer increments.
          Field of Vision at 1, 2, 3, and 4 km from Summit
          The same circles superimposed on aerial photography.
          Field of Vision in 1 Kilometer Increments
          Cerro San Martin is so symmetrical that the 1 km circle nearly follows the 800 meter elevation contour. The 2 km circle nearly follows the 600 meter elevation contour. The 3 km circle nearly follows the 400 meter elevation contour. And, the 4 km circle nearly follows the 200 meter elevation contour. Mormon's description of his view from the top works in this location. Criteria 18, 19 satisfied.

          20. Cerro San Martin is the easternmost point in the Tuxtlas. It is the peak nearest the lower Coatzacoalcos. It is the Tuxtla summit closest to the ocean. It has over 900 meters of vertical rise from any point on its periphery. It stands apart.
          Cerro San Martin in Topographical Context
          When we zoom out, it stands out even more dramatically on the landscape because of the extensive coastal plains surrounding it.
          Cerro San Martin in Larger Shaded Relief Context
          This hill is unique enough to have been known to both Nephites and Lamanites. Criterion 20 satisfied.

          21, 22. Our current proposal for hill Shim is Cerro Vigia, westernmost peak in the Tuxtlas. As this map shows, Cerro Vigia is westward from Cerro San Martin.
          Proposed Hill Shim Westward from Proposed Ramah/Cumorah
          A large lake, a significant mountain, and several rivers separate Cerro Vigia from Cerro San Martin. Criteria 21& 22 satisfied.

          23. If our correlation of Cerro San Martin with Ramah/Cumorah is correct, then the powerful threatening force northward was Teotihuacan.
          Sites with Significant Teotihuacan Influence
          How formidable was Teotihuacan? Between A.D. 378 and A.D. 381 Teotihuacan warlord Siyah K'ahk' (Fire is Born) acquired hegemony over El Peru, Tikal, Uaxactun, and Bejucal/El Zotz in the Maya lowlands. A few years later he shows up in inscriptions at Rio Azul and Palenque. The Teotihuacan capital in Central Mexico is 1,000 air kilometers WNW of these subjugated sites. Teotihuacan was the strongest power by far in Mesoamerica at the time of the Nephite demise. A major Teotihuacan trading center, Matacapan, was between Cerro Vigia and Cerro San Martin.
          Matacapan - Teotihuacan Outpost
          Archaeologists all over Mesoamerica are working hard trying to understand the scope and nature of Teotihucan influence in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. The Nephites were almost certainly influenced by the huge city to their northward. The rise of Matacapan may have been the reason Mormon felt the need to re-locate the Nephite archives from hill Shim to hill Cumorah Mormon 4:23. If Teotihuacan was allied with the Lamanites coming up from the land southward, the Nephites would have been surrounded, caught in a vise. The presence of Matacapan nearby would have been a potent reason for Nephite survivors to have fled southward from the final battle. Criterion 23 satisfied.

          24. Our large-scale correlation, as it stood in January, 2016, is laid out in the blog article "Book of Mormon Lands Map January 2016." We had not analyzed Ramah/Cumorah at that time. We follow John L. Sorenson, Joseph L. Allen, and many others on Nephi as Kaminaljuyu. We follow V. Garth Norman on Zarahemla as Nueva Esperanza - Calatraba. According to this correlation, Zarahemla is at a heading of 339 degrees NNW from Nephi.
          Proposed Direction Nephi to Zarahemla
          Our proposed Ramah/Cumorah is at a heading of 313 degrees which is nearly due NW from Nephi.
          Proposed Direction Nephi to Ramah/Cumorah
          Criterion 24 satisfied.

          25. Our proposed Zarahemla is 373 air kilometers from our Nephi. See direction image above. Our proposed Ramah/Cumorah is 604 air kilometers from our Nephi. See direction image above. In these correlations the air distance from Nephi to Ramah/Cumorah is 1.619 times the air distance from Nephi to Zarahemla. Criterion 25 satisfied.

          26. As the images in #24 indicate, our Zarahemla is in the coastal plain at an elevation of 24 meters. Our Ramah/Cumorah is in the coastal plain at an elevation that rises gradually from sea level to the base of the hill at about 200 meters and then up the steep slopes to the summit.
          Proposed Ramah/Cumorah in the Coastal Plain
          Criterion 26 satisfied.

          27. Our proposed Ramah/Cumorah is 36 air kilometers WNW from the large, north-flowing Coatzacoalcos.
          Coatzacoalcos to Cerro San Martin
          Criterion 27 satisfied.

          28. To go from Nephi to Zarahemla in our proposed correlation, you go through the mountains, past the fall line, into the large coastal plain, and approach the sea. To go from Nephi to Ramah/Cumorah in our proposed correlation, you go through the mountains, past the fall line, into the large coastal plain, and approach the sea.
          Relative Locations of Proposed Nephi, Zarahemla, & Ramah/Cumorah
          Criterion 28 satisfied.

          29. Our Zarahemla and the area around our Ramah/Cumorah are both in the climate zone known as Am Tropical Monsoon in the Koppen Climate Classification. This map is from INEGI, so it does not include Guatemala.
          Climatic Zones in Southern Mexico
          The Koppen Climate Classification for Guatemala City, on the other hand, is Cwb Oceanic Subtropical Highland. These two climates are very different with the subtropical highland generally considered superior for creature comfort. The people in Guatemala City justifiably brag about their "eternal spring." Criterion 29 satisfied.
          ↧

          Prophets Human and Inspired

          November 15, 2016, 3:33 pm
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          My wife and I just saw James Arrington's farewell performance of his acclaimed one-man show "Here's Brother Brigham." Arrington donned the beard and stove pipe hat for 40 years. He and his wife have accepted a call to serve as senior missionaries and will be leaving soon for Nashville, TN.

          I love Brigham (1801 - 1877) as I love Joseph (1805 - 1844). I revere them as Prophets of God. I have also studied their lives in sufficient detail to realize they were highly imperfect human beings, like the rest of us. Prophets, like the Church they lead, are partly human and partly inspired. If you fail to see the divine inspiration, you miss the awe. If you fail to see the humanity, you have unrealistic expectations. The person who reasonably balances this humanity and inspiration in their mind can weather the storms of life with their testimony intact.

          Brigham chewed tobacco much of his life, used colorful language, and practiced racism. He married 55 women, divorced 10 of them, and only publicly acknowledged 16 wives. He also helped convert thousands, led 70,000 emigrants west, founded 350 settlements, established many institutions that are thriving today, and built up a Church that now spans the globe. Joseph's temporal pursuits usually ended badly but he produced more pages of sacred writ than any Prophet in the Bible. Brigham's gifts as a seer and revelator were limited but a more successful administrator would be hard to find. Joseph and Brigham were both partly human and partly inspired.

          Joseph Fielding Smith (1876 - 1972) was a prolific author although his outdated material is seldom referenced in the contemporary Church. His rigid orthodoxy and arch conservatism would make him a pariah in today's world. His famous statement that man would never travel to the moon was brought up in the 1970 press conference when he became President of the Church a mere six months after Apollo 11. "Well, I was wrong, wasn't I?" was his terse reply. I can't imagine Joseph ever uttering those words. See the blog article "Joseph Smith in One Question." Joseph Fielding Smith was partly human and partly inspired.

          So how much credence should we give a statement attributed to a partly human and partly inspired Prophet? South American mission records contain statements by Apostles (Spencer W. Kimball (1895 - 1985), for instance) who later became the Prophet saying Lehi landed in Chile at 30 degrees south latitude. It is human nature to travel and say something about the place you are visiting to please your audience. Those brethren who over the years repeated the old myth about the Lehites landing in Chile were partly human and partly inspired. Perpetuating a false tradition over the pulpit was part of their human nature.

          Joseph Fielding Smith in 1939 expressed his opinion that the Jaredite Ramah/Nephite Cumorah was in upstate New York. Rigidly orthodox and archly conservative, he espoused the "one Cumorah" theory in the wake of liberal new ideas coming up from BYU. Was Smith perpetuating a false tradition as part of his human nature? I believe he was (see the article Ramah/Cumorah), although I revere Joseph Fielding Smith as a Prophet who held the keys of the Kingdom of God on the earth for 2 1/2 years from 1970 - 1972. David O, McKay (1873 - 1970) had been the larger-than-life Prophet of my youth. I was hiking through Zion's Narrows in 1971 when I received a witness from the Spirit that Joseph Fielding Smith was indeed a Prophet of the Most High. As I participated in the Provo Temple dedication in 1972, the Spirit bore witness to me that the dedicatory prayer authored by Joseph Fielding Smith and read by Harold B. Lee (1899 - 1973) was divinely inspired. I have no problem with Joseph Fielding Smith or any Prophet being partly human and partly inspired.

          I own a limited edition print of this painting entitled "Sacred Fire" by Jon McNaughton.
          Latter-day Prophets of the Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries
          in Period Scout Uniforms Surrounding Lord Baden Powell 
          My great aunt told me stories about visits with Heber J. Grant (1856 - 1945). My grandfather was Ezra Taft Benson's (1899 - 1994) scoutmaster in Franklin County, Idaho. Some of my mother's family were students of Harold B. Lee in Weston and Oxford, Idaho. Part of my youth was spent in Thatcher, Arizona where Spencer W. Kimball was an insurance salesman and real estate broker. I entered BYU in 1971 as a Joseph Fielding Smith scholar. I have met Thomas S. Monson in various settings including airports and funerals over the years. I walked with Gordon B. Hinckley (1910 - 2008) back to his car (a Rambler Ambassador) in a BYU parking lot after he visited with a few of us on campus. These are great men, Prophets of God, partly human and partly inspired. Their private opinions about the Book of Mormon are significantly less authoritative than the text itself. The Prophets who authored the Book of Mormon were also partly human and partly inspired, but they lived in the areas and were eye-witnesses to the events they described. They also expressed themselves under divine mandate 3 Nephi 23:13. 3 Nephi 26:12, Ether 4:5 and received inspiration appropriate to their stewardships Mormon 3:20.

          As Taylor Halverson reminded me, "Catholics say the Pope is infallible, but nobody believes it. Mormons say the Prophet is fallible, but nobody believes it."
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