I continue to think it would be possible to reach a consensus about Book of Mormon geography if everyone sat down and discussed the issues openly.
But that isn't happening.
The proponents of Mesoamerica don't even want Church members to know about the North American setting. This is easy to understand.
_____________
As it stands today, there are two basic groups.
Group A thinks Cumorah is somewhere other than in New York. Adherents think Joseph and Oliver were wrong when they identified the hill in New York as Cumorah. They think scholarship can identify the Hill Cumorah and other sites.
Group B thinks Cumorah is in New York, based on what Oliver Cowdery wrote in Letter VII. Adherents think Joseph and Oliver knew Cumorah was in New York because they had visited the repository of Nephite records in the hill, because of the two sets of plates, because Moroni identified it as Cumorah, etc.
_____________
I don't think the choice between these two views is even close. Most members of the Church, when presented with the choice, choose Joseph and Oliver over the scholars.
This explains why the scholars and educators who promote the Mesoamerican setting refuse to present their theory alongside the North American setting. The only way their theories endure is by excluding the North American setting from their publications, conferences, web pages, and classrooms.
Instead, you'll read 2D arguments about which way the river Sidon flows, which "correspondences" are closer to which interpretation of the text, etc.
But you won't read the 3D argument about accepting or rejecting Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
_____________
The current status of the consensus is this: people who accept what Joseph and Oliver said about Cumorah accept the North American setting, while people who think Joseph and Oliver didn't know what they were talking about accept another setting (Mesoamerica, Baja, Panama, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, etc.).
IOW, the status hasn't changed much.
Except that thousands of people are changing their minds about the setting, switching from Mesoamerica to North America.
But that isn't happening.
The proponents of Mesoamerica don't even want Church members to know about the North American setting. This is easy to understand.
_____________
As it stands today, there are two basic groups.
Group A thinks Cumorah is somewhere other than in New York. Adherents think Joseph and Oliver were wrong when they identified the hill in New York as Cumorah. They think scholarship can identify the Hill Cumorah and other sites.
Group B thinks Cumorah is in New York, based on what Oliver Cowdery wrote in Letter VII. Adherents think Joseph and Oliver knew Cumorah was in New York because they had visited the repository of Nephite records in the hill, because of the two sets of plates, because Moroni identified it as Cumorah, etc.
_____________
I don't think the choice between these two views is even close. Most members of the Church, when presented with the choice, choose Joseph and Oliver over the scholars.
This explains why the scholars and educators who promote the Mesoamerican setting refuse to present their theory alongside the North American setting. The only way their theories endure is by excluding the North American setting from their publications, conferences, web pages, and classrooms.
Instead, you'll read 2D arguments about which way the river Sidon flows, which "correspondences" are closer to which interpretation of the text, etc.
But you won't read the 3D argument about accepting or rejecting Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
_____________
The current status of the consensus is this: people who accept what Joseph and Oliver said about Cumorah accept the North American setting, while people who think Joseph and Oliver didn't know what they were talking about accept another setting (Mesoamerica, Baja, Panama, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, etc.).
IOW, the status hasn't changed much.
Except that thousands of people are changing their minds about the setting, switching from Mesoamerica to North America.
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