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Claim
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Response
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Author's sources
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DVD 0:17
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- The narrator claims that ocean currents would have carried Lehi's group to the East Coast of North America.
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- The Book of Mormon states that Lehi's ship was driven by the wind: "And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land." (1 Nephi 18꞉8) (emphasis added)
- The Book of Mormon states that the Nephite's land of first inheritance was near the western seashore: "...in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers’ first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the seashore." (Alma 22꞉28) (emphasis added)
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DVD 1:56
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- The narrator claims that the only two seasons in Mesoamerica are "hot" and "really hot," and that this does not support the statement in Alma 46:40 that refers to "some seasons of the year."
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Fact checking results: This claim is false Countries nearer the equator experience "dry seasons" and "wet seasons."
- The temperature in the Guatemalan highlands (where Mesoamerican supporters believe Lehi's party settled) is actually very temperate, with daytime temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees Farenheit.
- "Obviously he has not lived in any of these Mesoamerican countries. Although their seasons as not the same as “the four” in North America, they do have seasons. There are certainly seasons of hotter weather and colder weather, as well as rainy seasons and dry seasons" (Jerry Ainsworth (20 Sept 2008).).
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DVD 7-2:22
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- The Book of Mormon refers to snow, which it is claimed does not occur in Mesoamerica, making a Great Lakes model more plausible.
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- The author's claim is false: "Completely untrue. I have been in Guatemala when it snowed, and when one goes a little further north, into central Mexico, (the land northward), there are at least four large mountain/volcanoes with snow at their tops most of the year. They are located in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala. On one rare occasion I was on a small hill out of Tampico, Mexico, when it snowed the whole night. In the morning there was almost an inch of snow. It does snow in these parts of the world. It does so rarely, but it does happen" (Jerry Ainsworth (20 Sept 2008).).
- Nephi was from Jerusalem, and so would also have known snow from his experiences there (as Meldrum acknowledges, 2:50).
- Snow
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DVD 7-2:20
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- There is snow in the Mesoamerican setting mountains, "but this is not where the Book of Mormon was supposed to have taken place. That has all been placed down in the jungle areas."
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- The author's claim is false: The plateau upon which many Mesoamerican theorists place the Nephites is actually a temperate area, not a "jungle."
- The author's claim is false: "The trading capital of this area, during Book of Mormon days, was the beautiful city of Teotihuacan. Records show that people from this city traded all the way up through northern Mexico, and down to Panama. Teotihuacan is only 70 miles from the mountains and volcanoes in Tlaxcala and Puebla, where there is perpetual snow on the tops. Some times, on rare occasions, it even snows in the valleys of these slopes. As traders, those from Teotihuacan could have easily shared the knowledge of snow with others. The concept of snow was not foreign to the Maya culture" (Jerry Ainsworth (20 Sept 2008).).
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DVD 7:18
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- The narrator defines "whirlwind" as a tornado and a "tempest" as a hurricane. The narrator states that "Central America, the location where the Book of Mormon was supposed to have happened has never had a single recorded tornado."
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Fact checking results: This claim is false
- A hurricane is also a whirlwind.
- A tempest is typically a storm of any type.
- Tornadoes do occur in Mesoamerica. See videos:
- "But the secret in understanding which of these two phenomena this scripture is talking about is recorded in Mosiah 12꞉6. In this scripture “east winds,” are mentioned first, and then later whirlwinds are mentioned. For this continent, hurricanes come out of the east, while tornadoes come from every direction. In 3 Nephi , when the whirlwind is mentioned, it is always mentioned in tandem with a tempest. Hurricanes coming from the east, through the Caribbean and into Mesoamerica, bring with them tempests in the ocean? I believe that hurricanes are more likely to create tempests in the ocean, than are tornadoes, especially the violent ones mentioned in 3 Nephi" (Jerry Ainsworth (20 Sept 2008).).
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