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* “For example, the book describes in considerable detail what is supposed to be a major earthquake somewhere in Central America, and another time it sets forth the particulars of ancient olive culture. Here are things we can check up on; but to do so we must go to sources made available by scholars long since the days of Joseph Smith. Where he could have learned all about major Central American earthquakes or the fine points of Mediterranean olive culture remains a question.”<ref>{{Book:Nibley:Since Cumorah|pages=231}}</ref> | * “For example, the book describes in considerable detail what is supposed to be a major earthquake somewhere in Central America, and another time it sets forth the particulars of ancient olive culture. Here are things we can check up on; but to do so we must go to sources made available by scholars long since the days of Joseph Smith. Where he could have learned all about major Central American earthquakes or the fine points of Mediterranean olive culture remains a question.”<ref>{{Book:Nibley:Since Cumorah|pages=231}}</ref> | ||
− | * In the summer of 1971, Hugh traveled to Mexico and Guatemala. He wrote about his trip in his article. In his article, he alludes to Teotihuacan outside Mexico City as one of the great temple centers of antiquity and describes the imposing architecture of El Castillo and El Caracol at Chichen Itza. Nibley then summarizes by saying, “The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather, they stand for what their descendants, ‘mixed with the blood of their brethren,’ descended to.”<ref>{{Ensign|author=Hugh Nibley|article=[https://www.lds.org/ensign/print/1972/09/ancient-temples-what-do-they-signify?lang=eng&clang=eng Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?]|date=September 1972}}</ref> | + | * In the summer of 1971, Hugh traveled to Mexico and Guatemala. He wrote about his trip in his article. In his article, he alludes to Teotihuacan outside Mexico City as one of the great temple centers of antiquity and describes the imposing architecture of El Castillo and El Caracol at Chichen Itza. Nibley then summarizes by saying, “The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather, they stand for what their descendants, ‘mixed with the blood of their brethren,’ descended to.”<ref name="Ensign1972">{{Ensign|author=Hugh Nibley|article=[https://www.lds.org/ensign/print/1972/09/ancient-temples-what-do-they-signify?lang=eng&clang=eng Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?]|date=September 1972}}</ref> |
* Kirk Magleby wrote: "My last visit with Hugh was with Jack Welch [of FARMS] in 2003. We met in the Nibley home on Seventh North in Provo. We talked about the many trips Hugh had made to the Hopi villages in northern Arizona. He reiterated his belief that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica with echoes and remnants filtering up into the native cultures of the continental United States."<ref>{{NC}}</ref> | * Kirk Magleby wrote: "My last visit with Hugh was with Jack Welch [of FARMS] in 2003. We met in the Nibley home on Seventh North in Provo. We talked about the many trips Hugh had made to the Hopi villages in northern Arizona. He reiterated his belief that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica with echoes and remnants filtering up into the native cultures of the continental United States."<ref>{{NC}}</ref> | ||
− | * “Hopewell cultural centers “are now believed to be definitely related to corresponding centers in Mesoamerica.”<ref> | + | * “Hopewell cultural centers “are now believed to be definitely related to corresponding centers in Mesoamerica.”<ref name="Ensign1972"></ref> |
− | * Nibley states that evidence is “more hospitable ... to the activities on one tragically short lived religious civilization that once flourished in Mesoamerica and then vanished towards the Northeast in the course of a series of confused tribal wars that was one long, drawn out retreat into oblivion.”<ref> | + | * Nibley states that evidence is “more hospitable ... to the activities on one tragically short lived religious civilization that once flourished in Mesoamerica and then vanished towards the Northeast in the course of a series of confused tribal wars that was one long, drawn out retreat into oblivion.”<ref>{{Book:Nibley:On the Timely and Timeless|pages=150}}</ref> |
* "John Sorenson's book 'Images of America' must remain the indispensable handbook for students of the Book of Mormon. The only book of its kind — enlightening and convincing. Who else will ever bring such diligence, knowledge and honesty to the task?"<ref>[http://www.johnlsorenson.com/media/Hugh-Nibley-note-to-Dad.jpg Nibley to John Sorenson], 14 January 1999).</ref> | * "John Sorenson's book 'Images of America' must remain the indispensable handbook for students of the Book of Mormon. The only book of its kind — enlightening and convincing. Who else will ever bring such diligence, knowledge and honesty to the task?"<ref>[http://www.johnlsorenson.com/media/Hugh-Nibley-note-to-Dad.jpg Nibley to John Sorenson], 14 January 1999).</ref> |
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To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
Heartland advocates often cite Nibley selectively, and do not provide a full inventory of his statements. Nibley's writings suggest that he was partial to a Mesoamerican model, with later infiltration of some ideas northward. For example, in his 1946 reply to Fawn Brodie, Nibley rejected the idea that the moundbuilders of the eastern United States—used by the Heartland theory as evidence of Book of Mormon geography--had anything to do with the Book of Mormon:
He would later say:
Whether Nibley agrees with an idea does not mean that it is true or false—each idea must be evaluated by the strength of the evidence. In this case, however, Heartland advocates attempt to trade on Nibley's prestige and authority to reinforce their position, by giving the false impression that he agrees with him.
This is not honest scholarship.
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