The so-called 'hill' Cumorah is a Drumlin. It is naturally occurring, with many others, in New York State. If you want to see how many there are, go to Goggle maps, zero in on upper New York, and select the terrain view. These are probably remnants of the ice age.
Brigham Young claimed there were thousands more plates piled on tables, and they would also be translated if the chosen ones were faithful enough. Oh really?
If there was anything under the hill Cumorah it would have been discovered by now.
There never were any physical plates. The 'witnesses' saw them with their eyes closed.
Mormon folklore is deeply entrenched, especially if you've been taught it since you were a child.
It takes a bit of investigating before you wake up.
FAIR informs us that: "The geologic unlikelihood of a cave existing within the hill such as the one described suggests that the experience related by the various witnesses was
[1] most likely a vision, or
[2] a divine transportation to another locale. . ."
Although it is intriguing to think Joseph Smith led a field trip to the hole under the North Pole where the Ten Tribes reside, I wonder if there is not a third possible explanation that Occam might have preferred.
[|] Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If there were a Hill Cumorah cave
There are a few clefts which have opened up in the hill. One had to be covered up by a metal sheet a few years ago. Judging from the picture it was large enough to hide a treasure chest in or for a child to fall into. Maybe this is where Joseph Smith got his inspiration from.
Several years ago some men found a collapsed cave on "Miner's Hill," in Manchester, NY, which was part of Palmyra in JS's time. Some men got a bit of capital together and began an excavation, but at a certain point, having found nothing to connect it to LDS, and having exhausted their funds, gave up. I do wonder if there were more such caves worth investigating. Not that Moroni's treasure would be found, but I read somewhere that JS and his cronies did meet in caves, or in a cave.
How would you find the cave, or the cache of records abridged by Mormon, if it is protected by supernatural forces? The effect is similar to treasure moving in the ground as you are digging for it. Which is physically impossible as with many things Mormon. That does not stop the believers.
Humans believe what they believe for completely irrational reasons. They invest in a belief system and then feel compelled to defend it. Mormonism makes you invest heavily. It is the social equivalent of your cave explorers wasting their time and money until they gave up because there was nothing there. Why would there be?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2023 09:20AM by bradley.