I'm posting two alternative approaches to explaining the New York Cumorah. Let me know which one you like best by sending an email to lostzarahemla@gmail.com. Just put Option A or Option B in the subject line.
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Option A.
NOTE: The New York Cumorah
does not resolve the larger question of Book of Mormon geography, about which
the Church has never taken a position.
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Option B
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Option A.
Missionary Work and the Keystone - education and
fortification
Main points:
- 1. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery provided a powerful missionary tool that has been overlooked in recent years. Missionary and retention work has suffered as a result.
- 2. Educating missionaries and members about this tool will fortify their faith and put them back on the course established by the founding prophets. This will improve missionary work and retention.
Preach My Gospel, Chapter 5, includes
this quotation from President Ezra Taft Benson:
Just as the arch
crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with
the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The enemies of the Church understand
this clearly. This is why they go to such great lengths to try to disprove
the Book of Mormon, for if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes
with it.
Today, the enemies of the Church use the Internet to try discredit the Book
of Mormon. This is why missionaries have the most success in areas where people
don’t access the Internet.
Currently, the missionaries’ response to these enemies is to tell people
to pray about it. While that is a necessary step, Church leaders starting with
Joseph and Oliver recognized it was equally important to respond to critics
with facts.
Joseph and Oliver wrote a series of letters (Gospel Topics essays) to present
important facts about Church history and doctrine, including the key fact that
the Hill Cumorah is in New York. Joseph had his scribes copy these essays into
his personal history as part of his life story (Joseph Smith, History 1834-1836, in the Joseph Smith
Papers). These essays were originally published in the Messenger and Advocate and republished in the Times and Seasons, Millennial
Star, Gospel Reflector, The Prophet, and the Improvement Era. Until recent years,
most members of the Church were familiar with them—for good reason.
Sandra Tanner’s Lighthouse Ministry in Salt Lake City has a well-known
web page (http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/cumorah.htm)
that poses these questions:
in recent years some
LDS scholars have stated that the hill in New York is not the Hill Cumorah,
scene of the last battle of the Book of Mormon peoples. Who are we to believe? Is
a BYU professor more reliable than the President of the LDS Church or an
Apostle?
This is a question faced by most missionaries whose investigators access
the Internet. The missionaries do not know how to respond because they have never
been taught what Joseph and Oliver and the other prophets have taught about the
Hill Cumorah. Worse, they have been taught in CES and at BYU that the
prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah.
The Tanner web page includes a copy of the October 16, 1990, letter that
was approved by the entire First Presidency and sent from the Office of the
First Presidency which states
The Church has long
maintained, as attested to by references in the writings of General
Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as
reference in the Book of Mormon.
While the Church has never taken a position on other aspects of Book of
Mormon geography, the New York Cumorah has been well established. The early
Apostles included this teaching during the 1840s British Mission to help unlock
the door to missionary work. It has been taught by members of the First
Presidency in General Conference.
The prophets have consistently taught about the New York Cumorah because
that fact supports the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon and overcomes
objections that the book is fiction.
As Sandra Tanner points out, though, in recent decades LDS scholars at
BYU and CES have been teaching their students that the prophets are wrong.
Instead, according to these scholars, the Hill Cumorah is somewhere in Mexico.
This teaching has infiltrated much of the Church.
The Academic Cycle
Educating members and
missionaries about the New York Cumorah will fortify them and give
investigators another reason to read the Book of Mormon for themselves so the
Spirit can testify to them of its truthfulness.
Importance. Some say the
geography doesn’t matter, but to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the New York
Cumorah mattered a great deal—for the same reason it matters today.
President Cowdery wrote these eight Gospel Topics essays to respond to an
anti-Mormon book, Mormonism Unvailed
[sic], that was published in Ohio in 1834. Letter VII responds to the book’s
claim that the Book of Mormon was copied from a fictional work by Solomon
Spaulding. President Cowdery wrote that it was a fact that the final
battles of the Jaredites and the Nephites took place in the mile-wide valley
west of the Hill Cumorah in New York. This fact takes the Book of Mormon out of
the realm of fiction.
The New York Cumorah has been clearly, unambiguously and consistently
taught by the prophets ever since. No prophet has ever said Cumorah was
anywhere but New York.
In recent years, however, certain LDS scholars have been teaching that
the prophets were wrong. They claim there are “two Cumorahs;” i.e., that the
New York Cumorah is a false tradition, and that the “real Cumorah” is in
southern Mexico. This teaching has spread throughout CES and BYU and has led to
confusion and doubt among Church members—especially among youth and
missionaries—as well as investigators.
A renewed emphasis on the New York Cumorah benefits the entire Church in
three ways:
- It
affirms the consistent teachings of the prophets
- It
places the Book of Mormon in the real world
- It
eliminates the current confusion that causes members to question their
faith
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Option B
Suggestions for Missionary Work - education and
fortification
Main point: Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery bequeathed a powerful missionary key that has been
overlooked in recent years. Missionary and retention work has suffered as a
result.
This key unlocked the door to missionary work in the 1840s British
Mission and throughout the Church while Joseph was alive. The key supports the
divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon and overcomes objections that the
book is fiction.
The key is the teaching that the Hill Cumorah is in western New York.
In 1835, President Cowdery declared this was a fact. Joseph endorsed this
teaching multiple times, as did the entire First Presidency and every Apostle
who addressed the topic. The New York Cumorah has been clearly, unambiguously
and consistently taught by the prophets ever since. No prophet has ever said
Cumorah was anywhere but New York.
In recent years, however, a group of LDS scholars has begun to teach that
the prophets were wrong. They claim there are “two Cumorahs;” i.e., that the
New York Cumorah is a false tradition, and that the “real Cumorah” is in
southern Mexico. This teaching has spread throughout CES and BYU and has led to
confusion and doubt among Church members—especially among youth and
missionaries—as well as investigators.
A renewed emphasis on the New York Cumorah benefits the entire Church in
three ways:
- It
affirms the consistent teachings of the prophets
- It
places the Book of Mormon in the real world
- It
eliminates the current confusion that causes members to question their
faith
NOTE: The New York Cumorah does not resolve the
larger question of Book of Mormon geography, about which the Church has never
taken a position.
Background
In 1834, when confronted with anti-Mormon claims
(the book Mormonism Unvailed), Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery responded
with a series of eight essays based on facts. They published the
essays—the first Gospel Topics Essays—as letters in the Messenger
and Advocate.
The essays were so important that Joseph
directed his scribes to copy all eight into his own history as part of his life
story (Joseph Smith, History 1834-1836, in the Joseph Smith Papers). An
excerpt from Letter I in which Oliver Cowdery explains the facts of the
restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood is canonized within the Pearl of Great
Price today.
Joseph encouraged others to republish the
essays. They appeared in the Millennial Star (1840), the Gospel
Reflector (1841), the Times and Seasons (1841), and the Prophet (1844),
the New York City paper edited by Joseph’s brother, William Smith. Later they
were republished in the Improvement Era and extensively cited.
Although these essays were ubiquitous during
Joseph’s lifetime, they are largely unknown today. Yet they address nearly
every one of the specific issues that challenge the faith of members,
missionaries and investigators to this day.
A renewed study of all eight essays would
benefit Church members, but Letter VII is especially relevant to missionary and
retention work.
When President Cowdery ordained the original
Twelve Apostles and gave them their Apostolic Charge, he began with this
observation: “the minds of men are so constructed, that they will not believe
without a testimony of seeing or hearing.”
A few months later, President Cowdery published
Letter VII. This essay addresses the anti-Mormon claim that the Book of Mormon
is fiction and includes President Cowdery’s testimony about the Hill Cumorah
near Palmyra.
At about one mile west [of the Hill Cumorah] rises another ridge
of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale
between. The soil is of the first quality for the country, and under a state of
cultivation, which gives a prospect at once imposing, when one reflects on
the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national
strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed…. In this vally
[sic] fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the
Nephites… From the top of this hill,
Mormon, with a few others, after the battle, gazed with horror upon the
mangled remains of those who, the day before, were filled with anxiety, hope or
doubt…. This hill, by the Jaredites, was called Ramah: by it, or around it pitched
the famous army of Coriantumr their tents…. In this same spot, in full view from the top of this same hill, one
may gaze with astonishment upon the ground which was twice covered with the
dead and dying of our fellow men.
The New York Cumorah has been consistently
taught by members of the Twelve and the First Presidency ever since, including
in General Conference. For example, President Marion G. Romney said this in
General Conference:
In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent
hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of
that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out
before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in
that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the
great Jaredite nation…. This second civilization to which I refer, the
Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their
civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and
in the same manner as did the Jaredites’.... I bear you my personal witness
that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those
pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The
issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours.
Elder James E. Talmage affirmed the New York
Cumorah in Articles of Faith, one of the few books published by the
Church itself. He said:
The final struggles between Nephites and Lamanites were waged in
the vicinity of the hill Cumorah, in what is now the state of New York,
resulting in the entire destruction of the Nephites, about 400 A. D. The last
Nephite representative was Moroni, who…wrote the concluding parts of the Book
of Mormon, hid the record in Cumorah, and soon thereafter died. It was this
same Moroni who, as a resurrected being, gave the records into the hands of
Joseph Smith in the present dispensation.
Nevertheless, in recent years some LDS scholars
have claimed that the prophets and apostles are wrong. The Hill Cumorah, they
say, is actually in Mexico (or someplace else). They justify their repudiation
of the prophets by conflating two separate issues:
(i) the Hill Cumorah in New York, which has been
specifically and repeatedly taught by the prophets and apostles at least
through 1990, and
(ii) the rest of Book of Mormon geography, about
which the Brethren have never given an official statement, considering it a
matter that has not been revealed—unlike the New York Cumorah.
Joseph Fielding Smith, both while President of
the Quorum of the Twelve and thirty years earlier as a member of the Twelve and
Church Historian, specifically warned about the impact of this “two-Cumorahs”
theory. He wrote, “Because of this theory some members of the Church have
become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith of the Book of
Mormon."
The scriptures teach that the way to avoid
confusion and contention in the Church is to follow the teachings of the
prophets and apostles. (E.g., 3 Nephi 12:1).
Because the scholars have rejected the prophetic
teachings about the New York Cumorah—and President Smith’s prophetic warning
about the two-Cumorahs theory—many members of the Church have become
confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. This
confusion extends to investigators and the missionaries who teach them.
Some say the location of Cumorah doesn’t matter.
However, it definitely mattered in 1835 when President Cowdery wrote Letter
VII. It definitely mattered throughout Joseph’s lifetime. In fact, Letter VII
was republished in The Prophet just two days after the martyrdom in
Carthage. It mattered whenever it was taught in General Conference.
Early Church leaders recognized the importance
of physical evidence (i) to elicit interest in the divine authenticity of the
Book of Mormon and (ii) to corroborate the spiritual witness. Parley P. Pratt
republished Letter VII in the 1840 Millennial Star. He observed that
those who don’t respond to the promptings of the Spirit initially may do so
after considering the physical evidence. This remains true today.
The British Mission was highly successful as a
result of this approach. Brigham Young reported that in one year, they baptized
5,000 converts with only 3,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. Today we have over
150 million copies of the Book of Mormon in print. By that standard, we should
be baptizing tens of millions of converts every year.
Although it is not stated outright, this
repudiation of the prophets has become part of the standard curriculum at BYU
and in CES. CES and BYU have now developed two separate fantasy maps of the
Book of Mormon that teach students that Cumorah is not in New York; i.e., they
are actively teaching the youth that the prophets and apostles are wrong.
Instead, they say, these fantasy maps are the “closest fit” to the descriptions
in the text.
This approach places the Book of Mormon squarely
in the realm of fiction—exactly the problem Joseph and Oliver addressed when
they wrote Letter VII. Plus, teaching the youth that the prophets and apostles
were wrong about the New York Cumorah—and that scholars are more qualified to
address such topics—opens the door for the youth to question everything else
the prophets and apostles have taught. Students are being trained lean upon the
learning of the scholars when it comes to “difficult” questions.
On the other hand, reaffirming Letter VII and
the teachings of the prophets and apostles about the New York Cumorah fortifies
faith in both the Book of Mormon and the teachings of the prophets and
apostles.
The scholars have rejected the prophets on the
basis of what they claim is “evidence” that Cumorah cannot be in New York. In
reality, the physical evidence—archaeology, anthropology, geology, geography,
etc.—fully supports and corroborates the teachings of the prophets, as the
attached materials explain.
In Letter VII, Joseph and Oliver set the Church
on a clear course, giving members a strong position to respond to claims that
the Book of Mormon is fiction. By changing course, our scholars have not only
left members of the Church (and investigators) susceptible to these claims—they
have supported these claims by teaching the youth that Cumorah cannot be in New
York and that the best explanation is a videogame map of a fantasy world.
The process works like this:
The
Academic Cycle
Once this process has been through several
academic cycles it becomes self-fulfilling. The initial error becomes difficult
to identify.
We therefore suggest that Church leaders
reaffirm the teachings of their predecessors regarding the New York Cumorah,
for the same reasons that Joseph and Oliver wrote and published Letter VII in
the first place. Returning to the course established by the founders of the
Church would eliminate the confusion and doubt caused by the “two-Cumorahs”
theory.
This course does not constitute a Church
position on the rest of the Book of Mormon geography question. That issue
remains open for further revelation (as it always has) along with continued
study and discovery. But this course does reaffirm the consistent teaching of
the prophets and apostles that places Cumorah in the real world.
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