Are there any objectively created Book of Mormon "maps" out there that were created based purely on the geographical information provided within the text of the Book of Mormon itself and is not biased or influenced in any way (whether intentional or not) towards any real world theoretical locations?

In other words, are there any maps out there that would resemble what would look like if we had some non-Mormon scholar who knew nothing about Mormonism, let alone any of its real world locations theories (i,e, Meso-America, the Great Lakes, New York, or Heartlands Theories), but simply reconstructed a map based only on what he/she would read from the text?


I'd like to use a map out there for research purposes but only one I know is completely uninfluenced by any preconceived notions about supposed real world locations. The Book of Mormon is very clear about certain geography, such as one city being a certain distance from another (i.e. one days march) or being a specific direction (i.e. one city is described as being "north" of another city). I'd like to see a map where honest believers and non-believers can agree that, yes, that map most accurately reflects what is described within the pages of the text. And if there are place names in the BoM with limited geographical descriptions, this map should make notations of place names with not enough description to be accurately placed on this map. For example, if there was some city mentioned in the BoM, but it gives no information about it other than it was a Jaredite city, then this city could be placed within the Jaredite area of the map, but have a notation that that is all it says and that there is no general area (north, south, east, west, or center) within the Jaredite land that it can be accurately placed.

You would think one exists, maybe in some scholarly publication like Dialogue or Sunstone? I don't care if it's created by a Mormon or not, as long the author was truly being objective and didn't try to make some of the places fit a certain way outside of what is mentioned in the BoM.

Any ideas? Has anyone ever done their own BoM internal geography study before?

Disclaimer: I'm not a believer and obviously realize the Book of Mormon is not a real history any more than Lord of the Rings is.

Here you go ...


https://mormonism2grace.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/holley-book-of-mormon-map-cropped-2.jpg

Holley's map is what I'm looking for because it was created to line up with real world locations.

Ex-CultMember Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Holley's map is what I'm looking for because it
> was created to line up with real world locations.

I mean't to say, "Holley's map is NOT what I'm looking for because it was created to line up with real world locations."

Bwaa-ha-ha-ha! Holley's map would have Joseph and Hyrum screaming with laughter! Those silly names, and made-up places!

What a fool I was, to try to figure out the Mormon maps in the mandatory BYU religion classes, and be tested and graded on them, and have those grades computed into my over-all GPA, which negatively effected it. I had to spend valuable time and tuition money for the religion class hours and the expensive and nonsensical Mormon-published textbooks. I was working my way through BYU, plus paying tithing to the Mormon church on the student's salary I earned, trying to transfer to a decent university, that wouldn't accept "religion credits" anyway.

The joke's on us--though it took me many decades before I could laugh at it, after having my life ruined.

Try this old BYU student manual -

http://manmrk.net/tutorials/pda/b/PDF/Church/Institute/Books/BM_Student1996.pdf

The map is on p. 191, was taken out for subsequent editions

or just google "book of mormon geography" and get tons of hits and images

Posted by: Dave the Atheist ( )
Date: December 15, 2019 07:57PM

Re: Most Accurate Book of Mormon Map?


Here you go ...


https://mormonism2grace.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/holley-book-of-mormon-map-cropped-2.jpg

Long back, some poster on here asked a question re these geographical descriptions.

How were JoJun with his ghosts and handlers able to resist the obvious temptation to include a mighty waterfall in the fable.

Maybe they knew it would be a dead giveaway.

Bingo! Lord of the Rings is both more detailed and more accurate than anything in the BoM. And of course Mordor was the inspiration for the wonderful name of the Mormon Corridor - Morridor.

I bear my testimony that Frodo lives.

I'm looking for a map of all the planet's visited by the Starship Enterprise since that would be as real as a BoM map.

The geographical references in the BoM are vague and scarce.

The only thing that is definite is Jerusalem.

After that it's nearly pure guesswork.

For example, what does the "narrow neck of land" refer to? It could be anything depending on scale. It could be the Isthmus of Panama or it could be one of the narrow necks of land between the Great Lakes. Without knowing the scale and exact position of the narrow neck in relation to other geographical features, it's impossible to know how to position any other places in relation to the narrow neck, except in the crudest manner.

Distances in the BoM are typically expressed in time. But the relevant PACE of travel is generally not indicated. What type of terrain were they traveling through? What condition were the weakest of the group in? How often did they have to stop and rest? Without knowing the answers to numerous questions like this, knowing that a certain group traveled 21 days from point z to point y doesn't really tell you anything.

You may be able to end up with a relational positioning of certain cities and places (but most of the references are too vague even for that).

Take a look at Mosiah 23, for example. Several places are referred to (a wilderness, the Land of Nephi, the land of Helam...) and journeys (measured in days) between them are referenced, BUT no directions are indicated.

Holley's Map may actually be the best you'll get. Even though it attempts to link real world places to Book of Mormon references (in the process indicating that Joe Smith easily could have had such places in mind when making up the Book of Mormon), Holley made a reasonably diligent effort at getting the relational positioning to match up with descriptions in the BoM...to the limited extent that this was even possible.

We know that three major civilizations extant during the BoM years did not use the wheel in any form of transportation: Incas, Mayans & Aztec. The latter two had decent roadways, but not sufficiently strong draft animals.

Because Native Americans, who populated all of North America, were remnant of the Lamanite people, Joju didn’t have to restrict them to any one part of North America. And since he left no maps, it’s all conjecture.

Except that he identified HIS Hill Cumorah as being central to the final battle, and the store house of the gold plates.

I’m gonna go out on the limb with some of the other Wild Bunch and say it’s all made up.