FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Question: Do we need to know where the Book of Mormon took place?
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Contents
Questions
== Critics claim that the Church has no official position on geography of the Book of Mormon because the lands in the Book of Mormon never existed.
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
==Detailed Analysis
== It is not required for salvation to know where the Book of Mormon took place. Critics often exaggerate the extent to which Biblical locations are known, and ignore the disadvantages under which New World archaeology labors compared to the Old World.
Critics also ignore that there is substantial evidence for the Old World accounts in the Book of Mormon that were not known in Joseph Smith's day.
Most LDS scholars believe that a Mesoamerican setting best matches the Book of Mormon data, but other models have been advanced by others. Given that the Church has no revealed geography outside the Book of Mormon text, it is unlikely that a "Church-endorsed" map will be published. This does not prevent other researchers from seeking the most plausible correlation, but such undertakings remain secular, not spiritual.
== Notes ==
None
Further reading
FairMormon Answers articles
FairMormon web site
- FairMormon Topical Guide: Archaeology and the Bible FairMormon link
- FairMormon Topical Guide: Book of Mormon geography FairMormon link
- Brant Gardner, "Behind the Mask, Behind the Curtain: Uncovering the Illusion (Review of: The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 144–196. off-site FAIR link; originally available on FAIR link
Video
=
| Journey of Faith, (Link to all FAIR Videos) |
- Jerusalem, Lehi, and The Book of Mormon
- Nahom in The Book of Mormon
- Nephi's Bountiful in Arabia: The Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and the New World
- Divine Kingship in Mesoamerica, and The Book of Mormon
- Jesus Christ in the New World (Book of Mormon)