Scripture Central has reposted the original Kno-Why from Book of Mormon Central, which was #489, titled "Where is the location of the Hill Cumorah?"
Most of the kno-why entries are excellent, but some are so poor that during the peer review, we rename them as No-Wise. The No-Wise typically focus on the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. Scripture Central is determined to persuade Latter-day Saints to reject the teachings of the prophets about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon, and the No-Wise on these topics show how they do this.
#489 is revealing. It exposes the paucity of evidence to support Scripture Central's M2C-driven repudiation of the prophets. Let's take a look.
Here's the link.
Here's the link.
Here's the opening image:
They chose an image that makes the Hill Cumorah in New York appear insignificant, which supports their M2C narrative.
When originally posted, the old FARMS Mayan logo was superimposed onto the image.
This is the logo that conveys their corporate mission to "to increase understanding of the Book of Mormon as an ancient Mesoamerican codex."
(If you go to that link, you'll see they changed their mission statement after I originally posted this, but their content continues to promote their original corporate mission.)
The logo tells you everything you need to know about the content of no-wise #489. Like all the other no-wise articles published by SC, this one promotes M2C.
Scripture Central is uninterested in pursuing the truth, wherever it leads, because their main objective is to persuade members of the Church that the Book of Mormon is a Mesoamerican codex.
They take this objective so seriously that they repudiate the teachings of the prophets in its pursuit.
Let's observe how they do so in no-wise #489.
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The original text of the no-wise in blue, along with my comments in red.
When originally posted, the old FARMS Mayan logo was superimposed onto the image.
This is the logo that conveys their corporate mission to "to increase understanding of the Book of Mormon as an ancient Mesoamerican codex."
(If you go to that link, you'll see they changed their mission statement after I originally posted this, but their content continues to promote their original corporate mission.)
The logo tells you everything you need to know about the content of no-wise #489. Like all the other no-wise articles published by SC, this one promotes M2C.Scripture Central is uninterested in pursuing the truth, wherever it leads, because their main objective is to persuade members of the Church that the Book of Mormon is a Mesoamerican codex.
They take this objective so seriously that they repudiate the teachings of the prophets in its pursuit.
Let's observe how they do so in no-wise #489.
_____
The original text of the no-wise in blue, along with my comments in red.
The Know
The extinction of the Nephites occurred about A.D. 385 at “the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah” (Mormon 6:2, 5). This same hill was known centuries earlier by the Jaredites as Ramah (Ether 15:11). Knowing that he and his people faced impending doom, Mormon “made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni” (Mormon 6:6). That is to say, Mormon deposited what remained of Nephite textual sources in the hill Cumorah for preservation and entrusted the plates of what would later become the published Book of Mormon (the record obtained by Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century) to his son Moroni, who finished and later sealed the record.
This is a good summary except that Scripture Central forgot to mention that Joseph and Oliver actually visited the repositor in Cumorah multiple times.
Not much is known about the land and hill Cumorah.
To the contrary, quite a bit is known about the land and hill Cumorah.
For example, when Moroni first visited Joseph Smith, he explained that the history was "written and deposited not far from" Joseph's home near Palmyra, New York. From this we know that Mormon and Moroni lived in that area when they abridged the records of the Nephites and Jaredites.
Lucy Mack Smith explained that Moroni identified the hill as Cumorah the first night he met Joseph Smith. She also quoted Joseph Smith referring to the hill as Cumorah before he even got the plates.
As Assistant President of the Church, Oliver Cowdery wrote the first formal history of the Restoration, with the assistance of Joseph Smith. In his seventh essay, published as Letter VII, President Cowdery explains it is a fact that the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites took place in the valley west of the hill Cumorah in New York, and that this hill was the site of the depository of Nephite records. Soon after he joined the Church, Heber C. Kimball visited the hill and observed the embankments that have since been plowed under. Joseph, Oliver and others visited the repository in the hill. Their contemporaries and successors reaffirmed this fact many times.
The only Book of Mormon authors to discuss the location were Mormon and Moroni.
Plus Ether. We know from Ether 15 that Coriantumr's army pitched their tents by the hill, and that the final Jaredite war took place there, consisting of a few thousand followers of Coriantumr vs. a few thousand followers of Shiz. Extrapolating backward from the numbers Ether gave us, the total number of combatants was apparently fewer than 10,000, which corroborates Letter VII.
Based on a statement given by Mormon, the land of Cumorah was “a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains” (Mormon 6:4).
This is consistent with western New York, as I discussed here:
The only Book of Mormon authors to discuss the location were Mormon and Moroni.
Plus Ether. We know from Ether 15 that Coriantumr's army pitched their tents by the hill, and that the final Jaredite war took place there, consisting of a few thousand followers of Coriantumr vs. a few thousand followers of Shiz. Extrapolating backward from the numbers Ether gave us, the total number of combatants was apparently fewer than 10,000, which corroborates Letter VII.
Based on a statement given by Mormon, the land of Cumorah was “a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains” (Mormon 6:4).
This is consistent with western New York, as I discussed here:
http://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2018/01/getting-real-about-cumorah-part-3-many.html
Other geographical clues given in the Book of Mormon appear to situate Cumorah north of the narrow neck of land and near an eastern seacoast (cf. Mormon 2:3, 20, 29; Ether 9:3).1
You can read these verses yourself and see they don't say what is claimed here. Mormon 2 doesn't even refer to the "narrow neck of land." That was a Jaredite term, found only in Ether 10:20. Mormon 2:29 refers to a "narrow passage." Conflating these different terms is one of the major logical fallacies behind M2C, along with the M2C assumption that the "land northward" is a proper noun instead of a relative term. Ether 9:3 says Ablom, not Cumorah, was by the seashore.
The hill itself was tall enough that it could be used as a strategic defensive position as well as an observation point for surveillance of the surrounding countryside (Mormon 6:2, 7, 11).
Nothing in the text suggests it was exceptional height that made Cumorah a strategic defensive position; after all, it was a hill, not a mountain. The question is how tall is "tall enough." The New York hill is the tallest in the area; from the top even today, people can see the buildings in Rochester 20 miles away.
Other geographical clues given in the Book of Mormon appear to situate Cumorah north of the narrow neck of land and near an eastern seacoast (cf. Mormon 2:3, 20, 29; Ether 9:3).1
You can read these verses yourself and see they don't say what is claimed here. Mormon 2 doesn't even refer to the "narrow neck of land." That was a Jaredite term, found only in Ether 10:20. Mormon 2:29 refers to a "narrow passage." Conflating these different terms is one of the major logical fallacies behind M2C, along with the M2C assumption that the "land northward" is a proper noun instead of a relative term. Ether 9:3 says Ablom, not Cumorah, was by the seashore.
The hill itself was tall enough that it could be used as a strategic defensive position as well as an observation point for surveillance of the surrounding countryside (Mormon 6:2, 7, 11).
Nothing in the text suggests it was exceptional height that made Cumorah a strategic defensive position; after all, it was a hill, not a mountain. The question is how tall is "tall enough." The New York hill is the tallest in the area; from the top even today, people can see the buildings in Rochester 20 miles away.
It's also possible that Mormon chose the hill because he knew Coriantumr had constructed a fortress there. Maybe the embankments that Heber C. Kimball observed were originally constructed by the Jaredites, so Mormon could use or rebuild those. It's true that Mormon could see two units (his and Moroni's) he referred to as "ten thousand." His references to "ten thousand" appear to be military units, not specific enumeration, and after years of battles and retreat, a unit that may have begun with 10,000 soldiers would likely be significantly reduced in number. Perhaps as few as a few thousand soldiers were all who remained in a unit that began with 10,000.
Supposing there were a few thousand each in Mormon's and Moroni's units, presumably an equivalent number of Lamanites, there could have been as few as ten to twenty thousand warriors. The valley west of Cumorah can easily accommodate this many people. Thousands of visitors attend the pageant every year. Audiences of 5,000, including all their cars and buses and concession stands, don't fill even the area between the hill and the highway.
Some people confuse the two units Mormon said he could see (his and Moroni's) with the list of 21 other units he listed. But Mormon did not say he could see these other units from the top of Cumorah. Instead, he lists them as other units who had fallen, either in the string of battles and retreat that had raged leading up to Cumorah, or as a reflection of all the commanders he had lost throughout his career. Either way, as Oliver explained in Letter VII, the numbers were measured in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands.
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Now, let's turn to the sophistry Scripture Central uses.
There is “no historical evidence that Moroni called the hill ‘Cumorah’ in 1823” during his first encounter with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
As we saw above, we can all read for ourselves that Lucy Mack Smith explained how Moroni referred to the "hill of Cumorah" the first night he met Joseph in 1823, and that Joseph referred to the hill as Cumorah in 1827, before he obtained the plates (about two years before he translated the books of Mormon, Ether and Moroni). The No-wise simply ignores this historical evidence and thereby keeps its readers ignorant.
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Now, let's turn to the sophistry Scripture Central uses.
There is “no historical evidence that Moroni called the hill ‘Cumorah’ in 1823” during his first encounter with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
As we saw above, we can all read for ourselves that Lucy Mack Smith explained how Moroni referred to the "hill of Cumorah" the first night he met Joseph in 1823, and that Joseph referred to the hill as Cumorah in 1827, before he obtained the plates (about two years before he translated the books of Mormon, Ether and Moroni). The No-wise simply ignores this historical evidence and thereby keeps its readers ignorant.
Presumably Scripture Central wants people to reject Lucy's account because she related it "late" (meaning 1844-5), but she is the sole source for much information about Joseph's early life. The Saints book quotes or references her history over 100 times. Rejecting her recollections about Cumorah is not solid historical analysis but instead an example of promoting a narrative, in this case the M2C narrative.
The name Cumorah came into “common circulation [amongst Latter-day Saints] no earlier than the mid-1830s.”2 The first documented person to identify the drumlin hill3 in Manchester, New York, where Joseph Smith received the plates with the hill Cumorah appears to have been William W. Phelps in 1833.4
Notice the sophistry here. No-wise #489 wants you to think Cumorah is not in New York because this 1833 publication is "late" and was published by Phelps.
The question is not when the name Cumorah was first published, but but when it was first known (which as we just saw was before Joseph even got the plates, and we'll discuss this more below). The No-wise is trying to get you to think past the sale; i.e., it wants you to think "common circulation" is relevant, when "common circulation" is actually nothing more than a function of when members of the Church were able to publish a newspaper.
In reality, during his mission to the Lamanites in 1830 (D&C 28, 30, 32) Oliver Cowdery explained that it was Moroni who called the hill Cumorah anciently. Even earlier, in 1829, David Whitmer learned the name "Cumorah" from the divine messenger (Joseph said he was one of the Three Nephites) who took the abridged plates from Harmony to Cumorah before bringing the small plates of Nephi to Fayette. Scripture Central ignores all of these events.
The term "common circulation" means something published. The first Church newspaper was The Evening and the Morning Star, published in Missouri by W.W. Phelps starting in June 1832.
Not surprisingly, Phelps didn't publish everything in the first issue. He covered a variety of topics, including the Ten Tribes and the Resurrection, in the first issues. He also published the early revelations that were later published in the Book of Commandments and today's D&C.
Issue #8, January 1833, focused on the Book of Mormon. He published this:
The term "common circulation" means something published. The first Church newspaper was The Evening and the Morning Star, published in Missouri by W.W. Phelps starting in June 1832.
Not surprisingly, Phelps didn't publish everything in the first issue. He covered a variety of topics, including the Ten Tribes and the Resurrection, in the first issues. He also published the early revelations that were later published in the Book of Commandments and today's D&C.
Issue #8, January 1833, focused on the Book of Mormon. He published this:
But before the glorious and happy results of this book are set forth, it seems necessary to go back to the time it was brought forth. In the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven, the plates came forth from the hill Cumorah, which is in the county of Ontario, and state of New-York, by the power of God.
You can read this yourself here:
http://www.centerplace.org/history/ems/v1n08.htm
IOW, the very first LDS publication declared that Cumorah was in New York in its eighth issue. If Phelps had published it in the first issue, would that have made a difference? If he had waited until the 10th or 12th issue to focus on the Book of Mormon, would that have made a difference?
In this No-wise, Scripture Central wants you to believe that Phelps unilaterally invented the New York Cumorah in 1833.
A more realistic way to consider this evidence is that the New York Cumorah was so well known among those who knew Joseph and Oliver that there was no urgency in announcing it sooner. Why?
Notice that Phelps doesn't make a big deal about the New York Cumorah. He published it as a fact, not as speculation. He explains where Cumorah is, but doesn't feel any need to justify the name or explain why he calls it Cumorah. When you read the statement in context, you see that he is reporting to the world facts that were already well known to the Saints.
For example, David Whitmer recalled the exact moment when he first heard the word "Cumorah." It was in early June 1829, when he was bringing Joseph and Oliver from Harmony to Fayette. Along the road, the group met the divine messenger who had the abridged plates. David asked him if he'd like a ride to Fayette, but he declined, saying he was going to Cumorah.
Phelps’s identification was later followed by Oliver Cowdery in 1835.5
This is beautiful sophistry.
Remember, BMC wants you to believe that Phelps invented the New York Cumorah. Here, they suggest that Oliver Cowdery merely copied Phelps' lead.
You have to go to the footnotes to see that the reference is to Letter VII. Then they give you a link to Scripture Central's own site, not to an original source (such as the Joseph Smith Papers). This allows SC to editorialize through their "More Like This" to link to M2C-oriented material.
This misleading link allows SC to obscure the fact that Joseph had his scribes copy Letter VII into his own history, and that Joseph encouraged others to republish Letter VII, as we'll see next.
We can all read Letter VII for ourselves, right in Joseph own journal:
Think of the irrationality of this argument. Oliver's statement of the fact that the final battles took place in the mile-wide valley west of the hill Cumorah/Ramah in New York was (i) published before any published account of the First Vision (ii) corroborated numerous other accounts of Cumorah, and (iii) was republished multiple times by the direction of and/or approval of Joseph Smith himself. Far from being a false tradition created by Phelps, the New York Cumorah was a fact established by Church leaders from the outset, attributed directly to Moroni.
Probably due to the popularity and influence of these two early leaders’ writings, the identification of the hill in New York as same the hill Cumorah mentioned by Mormon in Book of Mormon became commonplace amongst early Latter-day Saints.6
Here, No-wise #489 glosses over a key fact that perceptive readers have surely already noticed. First, though, notice what they're trying to establish here. According to Scripture Central, the only reason people believed Cumorah was in New York is because a couple of obscure articles from 1833 and 1835 became "popular."
SC doesn't tell you that Phelps' article was so "popular" that it was never reprinted and had limited circulation in the first place. Instead, they try to persuade you that it "influenced" Oliver Cowdery.
So then we ask, why were Oliver's letters, including Letter VII, popular?
Here are some reasons that Scripture Central will never tell you. In fact, they removed from their archive a little book that explained all of this and instead issued another no-wise that tries to persuade Church members to disbelieve Letter VII.
Probably due to the popularity and influence of these two early leaders’ writings, the identification of the hill in New York as same the hill Cumorah mentioned by Mormon in Book of Mormon became commonplace amongst early Latter-day Saints.6
Here, No-wise #489 glosses over a key fact that perceptive readers have surely already noticed. First, though, notice what they're trying to establish here. According to Scripture Central, the only reason people believed Cumorah was in New York is because a couple of obscure articles from 1833 and 1835 became "popular."
SC doesn't tell you that Phelps' article was so "popular" that it was never reprinted and had limited circulation in the first place. Instead, they try to persuade you that it "influenced" Oliver Cowdery.
So then we ask, why were Oliver's letters, including Letter VII, popular?
Here are some reasons that Scripture Central will never tell you. In fact, they removed from their archive a little book that explained all of this and instead issued another no-wise that tries to persuade Church members to disbelieve Letter VII.
Letter VII was popular and well-known because:
1. Joseph Smith helped write the letters.
2. Oliver was the Assistant President of the Church when he wrote and published Letter VII. The entire First Presidency endorsed the letters, as did every member of the Twelve who ever commented on them (through the present day).
3. Joseph had his scribes copy the letters, including Letter VII, into his personal history, where you can read it today in the Joseph Smith Papers. See link here: http://www.lettervii.com/
4. Joseph authorized Benjamin Winchester to reprint the letters in the Gospel Reflector newspaper.
5. Joseph gave the letters to his brother Don Carlos to reprint in the Times and Seasons.
6. Joseph's brother William reprinted them in the New York City newspaper called The Prophet.
7. Parley P. Pratt reprinted them in the Millennial Star.
8. The letters were so popular in England that, in response to popular demand, they were compiled into a special pamphlet that sold thousands of copies.
As far as can be determined, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself only associated the hill in New York with the Cumorah in the Book of Mormon towards the end of his life.
This is outstanding sophistry and misdirection.
By using the passive voice--"as far as can be determined"--the anonymous author conveys the false message that no one can find anything to the contrary.
Earlier in this post I pointed out the well-known statements from Lucy Mack Smith, where she relates what Moroni said in 1823 and specifically quotes Joseph referring to the hill as Cumorah in 1827 before he even got the plates. (We'll see how SC deals with that in a moment.)
Notice also the term "himself" in this sentence. That's there because Joseph expressly helped Oliver write the historical letters, including Letter VII. It's also there to exclude statements from everyone else, as we'll see.
The No-wise next mentions D&C 128:20, Joseph's 1842 letter that refers to Cumorah. But then it tells us this:
Before then, Joseph left the name of the New York hill where Moroni gave him the plates unnamed in his accounts of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.8
I discussed this here:
https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-hill-in-new-york-problem.html
Now, notice this sentence:
Whether the Prophet arrived at this conclusion about the location of Cumorah by revelation, or by conforming to usage that had become common among the early members of the Church about Book of Mormon geography, or in some other way is historically unknown.9
Do you see how the No-wise is salting the earth here? Scripture Central wants members of the Church to believe that Joseph Smith misled the Church by "conforming" to a false "usage" created by unknown early members of the Church.
That assertion by M2C intellectuals is the first step toward their eventual repudiation of all the teachings of the prophets and apostles about the New York Cumorah.
1. Joseph Smith helped write the letters.
2. Oliver was the Assistant President of the Church when he wrote and published Letter VII. The entire First Presidency endorsed the letters, as did every member of the Twelve who ever commented on them (through the present day).
3. Joseph had his scribes copy the letters, including Letter VII, into his personal history, where you can read it today in the Joseph Smith Papers. See link here: http://www.lettervii.com/
4. Joseph authorized Benjamin Winchester to reprint the letters in the Gospel Reflector newspaper.
5. Joseph gave the letters to his brother Don Carlos to reprint in the Times and Seasons.
6. Joseph's brother William reprinted them in the New York City newspaper called The Prophet.
7. Parley P. Pratt reprinted them in the Millennial Star.
8. The letters were so popular in England that, in response to popular demand, they were compiled into a special pamphlet that sold thousands of copies.
As far as can be determined, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself only associated the hill in New York with the Cumorah in the Book of Mormon towards the end of his life.
This is outstanding sophistry and misdirection.
By using the passive voice--"as far as can be determined"--the anonymous author conveys the false message that no one can find anything to the contrary.
Earlier in this post I pointed out the well-known statements from Lucy Mack Smith, where she relates what Moroni said in 1823 and specifically quotes Joseph referring to the hill as Cumorah in 1827 before he even got the plates. (We'll see how SC deals with that in a moment.)
Notice also the term "himself" in this sentence. That's there because Joseph expressly helped Oliver write the historical letters, including Letter VII. It's also there to exclude statements from everyone else, as we'll see.
The No-wise next mentions D&C 128:20, Joseph's 1842 letter that refers to Cumorah. But then it tells us this:
Before then, Joseph left the name of the New York hill where Moroni gave him the plates unnamed in his accounts of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.8
I discussed this here:
https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-hill-in-new-york-problem.html
Now, notice this sentence:
Whether the Prophet arrived at this conclusion about the location of Cumorah by revelation, or by conforming to usage that had become common among the early members of the Church about Book of Mormon geography, or in some other way is historically unknown.9
Do you see how the No-wise is salting the earth here? Scripture Central wants members of the Church to believe that Joseph Smith misled the Church by "conforming" to a false "usage" created by unknown early members of the Church.
That assertion by M2C intellectuals is the first step toward their eventual repudiation of all the teachings of the prophets and apostles about the New York Cumorah.
They actually expect you to believe that Joseph Smith adopted and endorsed a false tradition, and that this false tradition is now canonized in D&C 128.
Plus, as we've seen, it's not "historically unknown" that Joseph learned the name Cumorah before he even obtained the plates. Lucy Mack Smith made that explicit. Furthermore, David Whitmer learned the name Cumorah for the heavenly messenger who was taking the Harmony plates to Cumorah.
But wait. It gets worse.
In the decades after Joseph Smith’s death, other prominent early Latter-day Saints, including Lucy Mack Smith,10 Parley P. Pratt,11 and David Whitmer,12 recounted earlier incidents in which the New York hill was identified as Cumorah by the angel Moroni and by Joseph Smith. Since these statements are somewhat late recollections, coming after the identity of Cumorah as a hill near Palmyra, New York, had become widespread, they should be used cautiously.13
Here, Scripture Central wants you to believe that Lucy, Parley, and David all lied about the New York Cumorah, and thereby, like Joseph, misled the Church.
Furthermore, SC wants you to believe that all subsequent prophets and apostles who have ever addressed the topic likewise misled the Church.
Plus, as we've seen, it's not "historically unknown" that Joseph learned the name Cumorah before he even obtained the plates. Lucy Mack Smith made that explicit. Furthermore, David Whitmer learned the name Cumorah for the heavenly messenger who was taking the Harmony plates to Cumorah.
But wait. It gets worse.
In the decades after Joseph Smith’s death, other prominent early Latter-day Saints, including Lucy Mack Smith,10 Parley P. Pratt,11 and David Whitmer,12 recounted earlier incidents in which the New York hill was identified as Cumorah by the angel Moroni and by Joseph Smith. Since these statements are somewhat late recollections, coming after the identity of Cumorah as a hill near Palmyra, New York, had become widespread, they should be used cautiously.13
Here, Scripture Central wants you to believe that Lucy, Parley, and David all lied about the New York Cumorah, and thereby, like Joseph, misled the Church.
Furthermore, SC wants you to believe that all subsequent prophets and apostles who have ever addressed the topic likewise misled the Church.
Think of the implications. We rely on Lucy Mack Smith's account as the primary source of information about Joseph's life before the Church was organized in 1830. The Saints book, the Joseph Smith Papers, and innumerable books and articles about Joseph Smith rely on her account not only because it's the primary source, but because she was his mother and she included specific details. While it's true that she dictated her history only after Joseph died in 1844, she explained that she did so because she had related this history many times and could not continue doing so forever.
Ironically, the same scholars who reject Lucy's account because it's "late" eagerly accept much later accounts from David Whitmer, Emma Smith, and others, including accounts from the 1870s and 1880s. When Lucy dictated her history in 1844, Joseph's contemporaries were present in Nauvoo and could have provided corrections if any were needed. Plus, Lucy's explanation of Cumorah is the most parsimonious explanation, meaning it explains the facts better than the murky conspiracy theories of those scholars who reject the New York Cumorah.
Similarly, second and thirdhand sources from after Joseph Smith’s lifetime speak of a hidden cave within the New York drumlin which supposedly contains an abundance of surviving Nephite records (presumably Mormon’s repository described in Mormon 6:6).14 As described by these sources, Joseph and Oliver are said to have entered the cave and beheld this repository after finishing the translation of the Book of Mormon. However, these sources are based on hearsay, and are somewhat ambiguous as to whether Joseph and Oliver’s purported experience was literal or they were taken there in a vision.15 As with other late or second-hand reminiscences describing any hill as Cumorah, these accounts should likewise be viewed cautiously.
David Whitmer explicitly stated that Oliver told him about visiting the repository. His statement was corroborated by Brigham Young's explanation of what Oliver told him. In fact, Brigham explained the repository in the Hill Cumorah in New York shortly before he died, specifically because he feared the knowledge of the repository would otherwise be lost.
If the scholars at Scripture Central have their way, Brigham Young's fears will be realized.
The "hearsay" problem is legitimate, in a sense. Much if not most of what we consider Joseph Smith's teachings are hearsay, however, as people wrote down what they heard him say. But in this case, Oliver related his personal experience in the repository. And the hearsay objection is a poor argument when the M2Cers reject Oliver Cowdery's first-person, formal, published statement about the fact that the hill in New York is Cumorah/Ramah.
The identification of the Hill Cumorah in New York as being the same hill where the Nephites perished has remained commonplace amongst members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.16 However, most Church leaders have simply and accurately said that the geography of the Book of Mormon is not revealed.17
The argument is two-fold. First, it conflates the location of Cumorah with Book of Mormon geography generally. But the prophets have always made two things clear: (i) Cumorah is in New York and (ii) we don't know where the other events took place.
This position is the only viable position to take because there are hundreds of possible Book of Mormon sites. But there is only one Cumorah, and the prophets have explained unambiguously and continuously that it is in New York.
The M2Cers cleverly conflate the two points to cast a shadow of confusion about Cumorah. It's blatant sophistry, but they get away with it because so many Latter-day Saints don't know the history and delegate their gospel study to the M2C scholars at Scripture Central.
The second part of the argument is Note 17, one of my favorites. It consists of an obscure, out-of-context quotation by Harold B. Lee that is currently being used by people in the Correlation Department to screen out any material that contradicts M2C. It's also a favorite of FAIRLDS.
I've addressed it before here:
and here
http://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2019/02/cumorah-and-presidents-lee-and-kimball.html
Notice how the No-wise quotes the misleading excerpt from Elder Lee's 1966 comment, but they don't quote from President Marion G. Romney's 1975 General Conference address. They don't expect you to look that up. They also don't cite the other prophets who have corroborated the New York Cumorah.
Their audacity knows no bounds.
In reality, every Church leader who has addressed the topic has affirmed the New York Cumorah. They have also affirmed the equally consistent and persistent teaching that we don't know for sure where the other events took place. This has been the case from the early days of the Church through the present, but BMC and the rest of the M2C citation cartel constantly try to conflate the two separate issues to confuse and mislead members of the Church.
Additionally, several Latter-day Saint scholars have questioned whether the hill in New York could feasibly be the hill Cumorah described in the Book of Mormon.
Here is the inevitable appeal to authority--the authority of the M2C scholars. They want you to believe the scholars, not the prophets. They follow this with a long paragraph about how the prophets couldn't possibly be right, complete with a citation to the M2C Bible, Mormon's Codex, which declares that the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah are "manifestly absurd."
Notice how the No-wise quotes the misleading excerpt from Elder Lee's 1966 comment, but they don't quote from President Marion G. Romney's 1975 General Conference address. They don't expect you to look that up. They also don't cite the other prophets who have corroborated the New York Cumorah.
Their audacity knows no bounds.
In reality, every Church leader who has addressed the topic has affirmed the New York Cumorah. They have also affirmed the equally consistent and persistent teaching that we don't know for sure where the other events took place. This has been the case from the early days of the Church through the present, but BMC and the rest of the M2C citation cartel constantly try to conflate the two separate issues to confuse and mislead members of the Church.
Additionally, several Latter-day Saint scholars have questioned whether the hill in New York could feasibly be the hill Cumorah described in the Book of Mormon.
Here is the inevitable appeal to authority--the authority of the M2C scholars. They want you to believe the scholars, not the prophets. They follow this with a long paragraph about how the prophets couldn't possibly be right, complete with a citation to the M2C Bible, Mormon's Codex, which declares that the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah are "manifestly absurd."
Latter-day Saints need to ask themselves if they agree that the teachings of the prophets are "manifestly absurd." If so, they should embrace M2C. If not, they should reject M2C.
Due to inconsistencies between the location of the hill described in the Book of Mormon and the real-world topography of western New York, as well as the lack of any archaeological evidence for the violent, mass destruction of hundreds of thousands of people in one concentrated location in that area through sustained warfare (cf. Mormon 6:10–15), some have suggested that the location of the final battle took place somewhere other than the New York hill, such as in modern day Mexico just northwest of the isthmus of Tehuantepec.18
Notice the multiple logical fallacies here. The topography of western New York aligns with the descriptions in the text, but not with the M2C interpretations of the text. The text does not describe a "violent, mass destruction of hundreds of thousands of people in one concentrated location," as we discussed above. Such an event is implausible anywhere in the world, and certainly is not attested in the M2C site in southern Mexico.
Because Moroni had to flee for his life, getting away from the area of the final battle and wandering wherever he could “for the safety of [his] own soul” (Moroni 1:1–3), and because he did not bury the plates until A. D. 421 (Moroni 10:1), which was 36 years after the final battle at the Nephite hill (Mormon 6:5), one could expect that thousands of miles might lie between that battle site and the final repository of the plates.
First, "wandering" hardly describes a solitary journey of thousands of miles to a specific destination. Second, it is implausible to think that Moroni would travel more in 36 years than the entire Nephite/Lamanite civilization in over 1,000 years. But most significantly, Moroni himself told Joseph the record was "written and deposited" not far from Joseph's home.
“Those who assume that the final Book of Mormon events took place in what is now the northeastern United States believe that the hill in upstate New York is the only hill called Cumorah,” wrote one historian summarizing the issue. “Others conclude there must be two hills called Cumorah: one in Central America, where they believe the final battles of the Book of Mormon took place; and the other in New York, where Moroni ultimately buried the gold plates he later delivered to Joseph Smith.”19 The Church itself has no official position on this matter, leaving individual Latter-day Saints to decide for themselves which theory they prefer to follow.20
It's a good point that Latter-day Saints should make informed decisions about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. However, Scripture Central is determined to prevent them from doing so. Management at Scripture Central refuses to provide comparative charts, tables, or text. Scripture Central deliberately omits relevant information from Church history and all the extrinsic evidence that corroborates the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah.
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When we read polemical and agenda-driven No-wise such as #489, we are reminded of Orwell's NEWSPEAK and old Soviet Pravda articles. This no-wise is pure censorship, dressed up to look as if it is balanced or neutral. You have to read it carefully to detect what's going on, but the message is clear.
Scripture Central simply doesn't want you to know what the prophets have taught.
They want you to believe the scholars, who, according to the M2C intellectuals, have been hired by the prophets to guide the Church.
I write all of this with the greatest respect and kind feelings toward the M2C intellectuals, their followers and their victims. I have no personal animosity toward any of them. I think they're all great people, faithful members of the Church, etc. I just wish they would at least inform members of the Church about all the facts and let us make informed decisions instead of engaging in this sophistry designed to persuade us to believe the scholars instead of the prophets.
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