I was trolling around in Deseret Book and found a hilarious book that claimed that the BOM was in... Peru. Despite the obvious problems with this hypothesis, the author managed to compile all kinds of reasons that the Incas must have been the Book of Mormon people. Nevermind that the Incas didn't even exist until hundreds of years after the Book of Mormon ended.

Just like FARMS, he was able to compile almost 300 pages of esoteric "parallels" that "proved" (if you pray about it) that the BOM happened in Peru. These parallels included:

*the ancient cultures in Peru had cities--just like the Nephites
*the Peruvians made buildings out of stone--some are square--like temples!
*there were two different groups--Nephites and Lamanites? (Hint: you are probably an anti-Christ if you don't see the obvious parallel).
*the Peruvians worshipped lots of Gods... but, at least one was benevolent--it must be Jesus!

At this point, I couldn't skim anymore because I was laughing too hard. As a history major, I cannot believe what Mormon apologists consider to be evidence. We have found more than 100,000 artifacts in Tikal alone. Yet, Hugh Nibley still has the gumption to say that archaeologist just haven't found the proper evidence yet because they haven't been looking with "spiritual eyes." John L Sorensen still claims that because he found one statue of a Maya person riding a deer, that many Maya must have ridden deer on a regular basis explaining the BOM's "horses." Or that his journal entry about a German immigrant family farm in Brazil letting their kids ride tapirs proves that tapir riding was a major hobby in Ancient Central America. I know that Sorenson and Nibley are intelligent and studied men. They must know that the standards for evidence in history are quite high. You cannot make revolutionary claims based on a few questionable items. They must be the most cynical and dishonest human beings to insist that their paltry evidence "proves" the BOM and puts those "silly" anti-Mormons to shame. The fact that one author can compile a couple hundred pages of alleged parallels that show that the BOM happened in a laughably unlikely place like Peru speaks volumes about how far Mormon apologists are willing to go to prove the lies that they sell.

In fact, going to Deseret Book is a rather amusing pastime. You find all kinds of ridiculous things there. I found another hilarious novel about a Nephite boy who had a vision that he was going to see Jesus be born, so he and his Nephite friends make a raft and set out across the ocean to see Jesus' birth. Despite the myriad absurdities, they are there with the wise men and shepherds. But since when did Mormons care about facts? It's all about how you feel. How heartwarming!

What a piece of driveling shit that was. I want to see it just to have a good laugh. Do you remember the name of the book?

But not as believable as the Great Lakes geography.

and the most compelling evidence is the existence of Lake Titicaca. We all know that after receiving the Gold Plates, Joseph Smith became inexplicably obsessed with Titi and Caca. The Book of Mormon is full of Caca. Joseph Smith was inspired to find Titi wherever he went.

It must have been Peru and, more specifically, focused on the Titicaca area.

lol

The claims people make are hilarious and new discoveries don't help them at all. Last November there was an article in the Deseret News about the BofM idea of Peru.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705362501/The-Peruvian-model.html

"Specific strengths for the Peruvian model include an ancient iron ore mine"

That "ancient iron ore mine" was in fact iron oxide mining to use for pigment. Mormons would like to think it was to make swords but it was for painting stones, bones, clothing and the body.

A funny thing happened about 6 months after that Deseret News article. A new discovery showed that the "evidence" of iron mining was 6,000 years older than Adam and Eve.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110519101231.htm

"Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in Chile that marks the oldest evidence of organized mining ever found in the Americas"

http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1086/659426

"Iron oxides have been used extensively in the Americas from the Paleoindian period up to the ethnographic present."

There goes any Mormon claim of "iron mines" being from BofM people.

Some things never change. In Joe Smith's day, he would dig for treasure only to have it "slip back into the earth" right at the last minute. BOM geography is the modern equivalent with apologists as the treasure seekers.

I've been reading a book called "Lost Trails Lost Cities," non-fiction about a South American explorer in the 1920's who went in search of a lost city or cities that he called "Z". Hollywood is working on making a movie out of it. It's pretty interesting looking at the world through his point of view, horribly flawed as it was.

Fawcett believed that there was an advanced ancient whitish race that lived in South America, and that they were wealthy and built cities. There was also a degenerate race that lived in opposition to them. All inhabitants of these cities were killed in a great cataclysm that occurred thousands of years of ago (and he saw evidence of this great cataclysm everywhere he went, and even said that in included raising Lake Titicaca thousands of feet to its current elevation). These cities were thence lost, and he died in persuit of making the great archaelogical and scientific discovery.

What I found funny was how sketchy his evidence for these cities was, and how firmly he believed in their existence. First there was an old record of a tale of an un-named Spaniard he called Rapozo who reported finding a lost city (and failed to bring back any evidence, or ever find it again). Then there was a diviner who touched one of his figurines and with a spiritual eye saw the aforementioned races and cataclysm. That, with the fact that the South American jungles were remote and largely unexplored, made for a goal worth dedicating one's life for.

I'm still reading the book, so I expect more evidence than that will be forthcoming. But I understand better my relatives who swear by the book and are convinced that South America was the site for the Book of Mormon history. They've found lots of other evidence supporting their South American theory, but haven't managed to re-find it in confirmable format for my sake.

This sounds a lot like the story of Thomas Ferguson and the NWAF. Interesting parallel. There is a great movie called "Memento" that talks about this kind of phenomenon. At the end of the movie, the main character discovers he is on a quixotic quest, but he decides that he can "lie to himself to be happy" and continues because it gives him the sense of righteous purpose that he craves. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It reminds me of so many mormon apologists and members.

It's just an unsightly bump in the middle of my forehead with eyelashes and it hasn't shown me a damn thing--ever.

People in Joseph Smith's time had a healthier diet, perhaps, because their "spiritual eyes" were just rolling and blinking all the time.

Anagrammy

Like i said on another thread, the Mo Establishment 'has to' keep coming out with these things....

a) Keep curiosity up; in place of verifiable facts/scientific information

b) It Stirs the Pot of aspiring ChurchCo writers, editors, and publishers.

?coincidence? that this is just as the Smithsmas buying/giving season is arriving? NOT B(U)Y A LONG SHOT!

Don't you think it appropriate to name Title & author?


just thinkin'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2011 03:38PM by guynoirprivateeye.

Sorry. You are right. I couldn't remember the title and author, but I looked it up. It is "Nephi in the Promised Land" by George Potter. 30$ from Deseret Book.

I think the Mayan that rode the deer was just a little drunk and having an awesome time. Since they did not possess photography, someone made a statue. Hell, I tried to ride my buddy's Bull Mastiff.

I actually went to a fireside with george potter about a year ago and heard the whole theory straight from his own mouth. It was actually my last straw into apostacy. I finally got unsubscribed from his newsletter a week ago.... "the nephi project". I have a blog post with they key points if anyone is interested. It was the last time I tried to convince myself it was all true. To make rhings better... I have a masters in Anthropology! What took me so long?!