Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting - wikipedia Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting This article relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. ( July 2014 ) Part of a series on the Book of Mormon Origin Angel Moroni Golden plates Joseph Smith Oliver Cowdery Sidney Rigdon Book of Mormon witnesses Reformed Egyptian Prophets and people Jacob Abinadi Ammon Alma the Elder Alma the Younger King Benjamin Brother of Jared Samuel the Lamanite Captain Moroni Enos Ether Helaman Lehi Limhi Nephi Mormon Moroni Historical authenticity and criticism Anachronisms Archaeology Genetics Linguistics Limited geography model Origin Proposed geographical setting Heartland Model Book of Mormon portal Book : Book of Mormon The geographical setting of the Book of Mormon is the set of locations of the events described in the Book of Mormon. There is no universal consensus among Mormon scholars regarding the placement of these locations in the known world, other than somewhere in the Americas. A popular `` traditional '' view among many Latter - day Saint faithful covers much of North and South America ; while many Book of Mormon scholars, particularly in recent decades, believe the text itself favors a limited Mesoamerican or other limited setting for most of the Book of Mormon events. The largest of the churches embracing the Book of Mormon -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ( LDS Church ) -- has not endorsed an official position for the geographical setting the Book of Mormon, although some of its leaders have spoken of various possible locations over the years. There have also been multiple attempts to identify the several civilizations in the Book of Mormon, which are dated in the text as living from 2500 BC to 400 AD, but no consensus has ever been reached. According to Joseph Smith, an angel named Moroni told him `` there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. '' According to Joseph Smith, Moroni explained that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was to be concurrent with the fulfillment of ancient prophecies regarding the latter - day church of Christ. According to Latter Day Saint scripture, the narrative in the Book of Mormon came to an end in the ancient land Cumorah, where Moroni, in 421 AD deposited the golden plates prior to his death. Mormon and Moroni 's Cumorah is claimed by many believers to be the same land containing the modern `` Hill Cumorah '' near Joseph Smith 's home in Palmyra, western New York, from whence the gold plates of the Book of Mormon were retrieved. Others view the modern `` Hill Cumorah '' to be distinct from the original, and simply to have been named after it ; thus adding no information to the question of the location of the lands described in the Book of Mormon. Contents 1 Internal map 1.1 Clark 1989 1.2 Lauritzen 1.3 Layton 1938 2 Joseph Smith 's statements regarding Book of Mormon geography 3 Hemispheric models 3.1 Bagley 1927 model 3.2 Comer / Maeser 1880 model 3.3 Dixon 1958 3.4 General 1830s 3.5 Gunsolley 1922 3.6 Hobby / Smith 1988 3.7 Ricks pre-1921 4 Central America models 4.1 Allen 1989 model 4.2 Christensen 1969 4.3 Davila 1961 model 4.4 DeLong - Steede - Simmons 1977 model 4.5 Driggs 1925 4.6 Ellsworth 1980 4.7 Ferguson 1947 4.8 Ferguson / Hunter 1950 4.9 Hammond 1959 4.10 Hansen 1951 4.11 Hauck 1988 4.12 Hills 1917 4.13 Holmes 1903 4.14 Jakeman 1940s 4.15 Norman 1966 4.16 Young 1921 4.17 Ivins 1921 5 Heartland models 6 South America models 6.1 Birrell 1948 6.2 Priddis 1975 model 6.3 Kocherhans 1986 model 7 Great Lakes theories 7.1 Curtis 1988 model 7.2 Holley 1983 7.3 Olive 2000 7.4 Coon 2009 8 Alternative theories 8.1 The African theory 8.2 The Malay model 8.3 The Isle of the Sea model ( Island model ) 9 See also 10 Footnotes 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading Internal map The Book of Mormon itself is the best source for understanding the geographical locations contained therein. Internal Book of Mormon geography focuses on the relationships between lands and other geographic features, independent of where they might be physically located on today 's maps. The purpose of constructing unbiased internal maps is to orient major lands, seas and landmarks mentioned in the text, and estimate relative distances between them ; without trying to ' fit them ' into any proposed setting on a modern map. A careful investigation of the Book of Mormon 's internal geography is useful to guard against bias by researchers using favored `` known - world '' settings and / or traditions. The following is a brief overview of the Book of Mormon 's New World ( American ) internal geography. Three groups are known to have migrated : Jaredites, Lehites and Mulekites : The Jaredites along with 22 other families landed in what was later called the `` Land Northward '' during the time of the building of the `` great tower. '' There is no mention of any of the other families after the landing. It is presumed that they remained with the descendants of Jared and his brother, but this is inconclusive. The Jaredites remained there until destroyed between 600 and 300 BC. Their land is described as being surrounded by four `` seas '' with a `` Narrow Neck '' linking to a `` Land Southward '' to which they never ventured except for hunting. This core area does not preclude expansions into areas beyond the north, east or west seas. The Lehites landed on the coast of the `` Land Southward '' around 589 BC. The term `` Land Southward '' seems to be used in different contexts as the Nephites gradually migrate Northward with what is possibly an explicitly - defined change in the terminology in Alma 22 : 31 - 32. The Land Southward was nearly surrounded by seas. One sea which was near the dividing line of the latter definition of the `` Land Southward '' from the `` Land Northward '' was described as the `` Sea that Divides the Land. '' The Book of Mormon does not explicitly identify the `` West Sea '' or the `` East Sea '' with the `` waters of the great deep '', `` great waters '' or `` many waters '' crossed by Book of Mormon peoples to the New World. The Mulekites landed in the Land Northward around 587 BC and proceeded southward through the Narrow Neck, founding the city `` Zarahemla '' which was in the heart of the land along the river `` Sidon. '' After arriving in the New World, Nephi, a son of Lehi, left the place of their first landing and traveled with his followers `` many days '' in the wilderness. `` Many '' is a non-specific word that can mean anything from `` three hours '' to `` forty days. '' This particular journey did not take Nephi and his followers beyond the territory that would later be called the land of Nephi. Numerous other travel times are mentioned within the Book of Mormon, generally just days or less. Thus the text of the Book of Mormon is often viewed by scholars as favoring a ' limited ' setting of just a few hundred miles for most of its events. For example, a group ostensibly consisting of the very young and old with `` their flocks '' and some belongings, could travel from the land of Nephi `` down '' through a `` strip '' of wilderness to the land of Zarahemla in less than 21 days. The land of Zarahemla is north of the land of Nephi. The lands of Zarahemla and Nephi are near an east and a west sea. A narrow strip of wilderness divides the land of Zarahemla from the southern land of Nephi. The region of Zarahemla features the nearby river `` Sidon '' - the only river named in the localized New World setting. The shallow ( it could be crossed on foot ) river Sidon originates in highlands to the south of the city of Zarahemla, near a land and city called Manti which is at the head of the river Sidon. The land of Bountiful lies far north of the land of Zarahemla. A fortified line between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Bountiful could be crossed in a single day from the west sea to the east ( sea ). There is explicit reference to a `` sea '' east of the land of Zarahemla, as far north as the southern borders of Bountiful. A sea east of Bountiful seems to be implied. The land of Desolation is north of Bountiful. The border between the land of Bountiful and Desolation is also described as a `` line '' running from `` the east to west sea ''. This `` line '' could be traversed by a Nephite in `` only '' a day and a half, presumably by boat, because the vicinity of Desolation was a `` place where the sea divides the land ''. A `` narrow pass '' or `` passage '' ran northward near the Bountiful / Desolation border which is mentioned in context with the nearby east and west seas. In contrast to the breadth of the Desolation / Bountiful border, the entrance to `` the narrow pass which led into the land northward '' is described as a `` point ''. Elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, a `` narrow '' or `` small neck of land '', by the border of the land Bountiful and the land Desolation is described connecting `` the land northward and the land southward ''. Serving as the entrance to `` the land south '', this pass, or perhaps the whole `` narrow neck of land '', appears to have been narrow enough to be blocked by a `` poisonous serpents '' epidemic. The land northward is covered `` with large bodies of water and many rivers. '' The land is bordered in each of the cardinal directions by bodies of water called seas. There are limits to how far north the land extends. Cumorah situates in `` a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains '', south of a particularly `` large '' body of water called `` Ripliancum '' and east of the Jaredite Land Northward. The land of Cumorah was the decisive gathering place of both the Nephite and earlier Jaredite armies. The Jaredite King Omer and his family settled east of the place where the Nephites nation would be destroyed. Lands south of Cumorah, where a `` few '' Nephites had temporarily escaped destruction, are referred to as the `` south countries ''. This `` country southward '' may have been beyond the borders of principal Book of Mormon lands frequently mentioned in the text. A Jaredite land of `` many waters '' and Zarahemla were near enough to each other, that travelers from the land of Nephi in the south could confuse the general region where the Jaredite nation was destroyed with the land of Zarahemla. Numerous other details in the Book of Mormon indicate principal lands that are quite localized, generally negating the possibility that the Book of Mormon settings cover major parts of both North and South America. Clark 1989 John E Clark, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, vol 1, 1989, pp. 20 -- 70. Lauritzen Source : BYU Library ( call number MOR M222 A1a # 33 ). John Sorenson notes in his book, The Geography of the Book of Mormon : A Source Book the following on page 102, `` This map is identical in practically all substantive details to Ludlow et al... The near identity of these three maps raises a question of directions of unattributed influence. If not plagiarism, at least an odd kind of liberty comes to mind. '' Layton 1938 Source : Lynn C. Layton, An `` Ideal '' Book of Mormon Geography, Improvement Era 41 ( July 1938 ) : pp. 394 -- 395. Joseph Smith 's statements regarding Book of Mormon geography Published articles in the Times & Seasons newspaper ( of which Joseph Smith was the editor ) indicate that Book of Mormon peoples, or their descendants, migrated from `` the lake country of America '' to Mexico and Central America. In 1841 Joseph Smith read Stephens ' Incidents of Travel in Central America. Smith held Stephens ' work in high regard and recommended it. However, Stephens ' bestseller did not change Smith 's position that Book of Mormon events took place in northern America, in lands primarily occupied by the United States. In the Wentworth Letter Joseph Smith wrote the following regarding his interview with the angel Moroni : I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country ', and shown who they were, and from whence they came ; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people was made known unto me : I was also told where there was deposited some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient prophets that had existed on this continent... In his `` AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES '' editorial of July 1842, the Times & Seasons newspaper corroborates wars described in the Book of Mormon with archaeological finds in northern America. It is not certain as to which articles in the Times & Seasons signed `` - ED '' were authored by Joseph Smith, approved by Joseph Smith, or otherwise handled by editorial assistants since Joseph Smith was frequently absent and only the nominal editor. The Times & Seasons quotes Josiah Priest 's American Antiquities statement that `` Weapons of brass have been found in many parts of America, as in the Canadas, Florida, &c., with curiously sculptured stones, all of which go to prove that this country was once peopled with civilized, industrious nations... '' The Times & Seasons associates earth, timber and metal works found in northern America ( presumably artifacts of mound builder societies ) with implements and constructions described in the Book of Mormon. As much as Joseph Smith approved of Stephens ' work, the Times & Seasons only makes minor mention of it, and then only to conclude in the `` American Antiquities '' editorial, that the peoples of Central America are tied historically to the Book of Mormon. Regarding the peoples of Central America, the Times & Seasons concludes : Stephens and Catherwood 's researches in Central America abundantly testify of this thing. The stupendous ruins, the elegant sculpture, and the magnificence of the ruins of Guatemala, and other cities, corroborate this statement, and show that a great and mighty people - men of great minds, clear intellect, bright genius, and comprehensive designs inhabited this continent. Their ruins speak of their greatness ; the Book of Mormen ( Mormon ) unfolds their history. - ED. The article does not actually say that Book of Mormon lands are to be found in Central America. This assertion came later in several unsigned newspaper articles, published in the Fall of 1842. The use of first person plural ( `` we '' and `` us '' ) indicates that the articles may have been a collaborative effort. A recent `` word - print '' stylometry study of the unsigned articles concluded that they contain Joseph Smith 's vocabulary and average sentence lengths. One LDS apologist, however, argues that the statistical word - print analysis can not identify everything that was edited in the articles and by whom. Without an endorsing signature we can not tell the extent to which Joseph Smith agreed with the opinions expressed in the unsigned articles. In the March 15, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons, Joseph Smith informed readers that he would endorse his articles with his signature. W. Vincent Coon argues that the unsigned 1842 articles contradict each other. One of the articles in question mentions `` Joseph Smith '' in the third person. This same article alleges that Lehi `` landed a little south of the Isthmus of Darien '' which would place Lehi 's landing on a western shore of South America. The 1842 Times and Seasons editorials, written by Joseph Smith, are readily identified as they end with his `` ED ''. Joseph Smith had found it necessary to go into hiding for much of the Fall that year. Though he was still official editor of the Times and Seasons, it is doubtful that he was acting editor at the time inasmuch as he was keeping a low public profile and had been in hiding, as Doctrine and Covenants 127 : 1 and 128 : 1 attest. LDS Church History Scholars believe that John Taylor may have served as `` the acting editor for the Times and Seasons '' in Joseph 's absence. In November 1842, Joseph Smith officially resigned as editor, explaining that, `` The multiplicity of other business that daily devolves upon me, renders it impossible for me to do justice to a paper so widely circulated as the Times and Seasons. '' John Taylor was then made official editor of the newspaper. Published in the same issue as the unsigned `` ZARAHEMLA '' article ( October 1842 ) with its anachronistic claims about the ruins of Quirigua, is a signed epistle to the church from the Mormon prophet in hiding. In Joseph Smith 's letter ( canonized as the 128th section of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants ) the Book of Mormon land Cumorah is referenced among other locations of significance near the Finger Lakes. Several earlier statements by Joseph Smith, indicate that events described in the Book of Mormon took place in lands occupied by the United States of America. In an 1833 letter to N.C. Saxton, he wrote : The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians ; having been found through the ministration of an holy angel, and translated into our own language by the gift and power ( of ) God, after having been hid up in the earth for the last fourteen hundred years, containing the word of God which was delivered unto them. By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and that the land ( of ) America is a promised land unto them, and unto it, all the tribes of Israel will come, with as many of the Gentiles as shall comply with the requisitions of the new covenant. But the tribe of Judah will return to old Jerusalem. The expression, `` our western tribes of Indians '' refers to Indian tribes who lived west, or were pushed west from the east coast of the United States by European expansion. LDS missionaries were sent to these peoples in the early days of the Church. Latter - day scripture refers to these peoples as `` Lamanites ''. Several passages in LDS scripture associate these native peoples with peoples of the Book of Mormon. LDS scripture teaches that the land of their Book of Mormon ancestors ( presumably the territories now occupied by the United States of America ) was ordained to become a land `` free unto all... ''. The ancient land of their inheritance is, according to LDS scripture, associated with the land of `` New Jerusalem. ''. New Jerusalem, `` the city of Zion '' is, according to LDS scripture to be built in northern America. Some scholars argue that Joseph Smith came to believe that the Maya ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula discovered in the late 1830s, offered evidence in support of the Book of Mormon 's authenticity. A more recent inclusion in History of the Church proclaims the ruins were likely Nephite or belonging to `` the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon ''. In view of the position that ancient peoples migrated from the north into Mexico and Central America, the linking of Mesoamerican artifacts with `` ancient inhabitants... of... the Book of Mormon '' is not inconsistent with Joseph Smith 's statements placing Book of Mormon lands in northern America. The History of the Church statement was inserted under the date June 25, 1842 and is not taken from any holograph writing of Joseph Smith or records kept by his clerks. The date, in fact, is only a few weeks prior to the publication of the AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES editorial, citing northern American evidence of Book of Mormon history. The inclusion in History of the Church reads as follows : Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood have succeeded in collecting in the interior of America a large amount of relics of the Nephites, or the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon, which relics have recently been landed in New York. Stephens brought to New York hundreds of artifacts from Mayan sites, including sculptures and architectural remnants. Shortly after arriving in New York, most of these relics were lost when the building that housed them was destroyed by fire. According to Mormon 6 : 5, Nephite civilization came to an end near the year 384 A.D., with only a few Nephites surviving, ( Mormon 6 : 11 ) of which some or all were `` hunted until they were destroyed '' by the surviving tribal civilization. The Copan and Quirigua, sites in the Yucatan visited by Stephens and Catherwood, contain artifacts that date more recent than Book of Mormon times. It has not been shown that any of Stephens ' artifacts date to Book of Mormon times, and Joseph Smith does not make this assertion. The first history of the Church was written in 1834 and 1835 by Oliver Cowdery, as a series of articles published serially in the Church 's Messenger and Advocate. In this history, Cowdery stated that the final battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites occurred at the `` Hill Cumorah, '' the very same Hill Cumorah in New York, where Joseph Smith said he obtained golden plates and other artifacts which were used to translate the Book of Mormon. These plates and artifacts were shown to only a few witnesses and never to the general public. The plates were later claimed to have been returned to the angel, Moroni. Oliver Cowdery also identified the Jaredites ' final battle as occurring in the same area as the Nephite / Lamanite final battle. Since Smith was an editor of the Messenger and Advocate and approved the history, all but proponents of limited South American and Mesoamerican geography theories believe it conclusively demonstrated Joseph Smith 's belief as well. In any case, evidence appears to show that Smith did not subscribe to the limited Mesoamerican or South American geography theories promoted by some LDS today. Joseph Smith clearly advocated a northern American setting ( near the Finger Lakes ) for the Book of Mormon land Cumorah, hence Doctrine and Covenants 128 : 20. Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith 's mother, in her account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, says that the divine messenger called the hill where the plates were deposited the `` hill of Cumorah '' meaning `` hill of '' the Book of Mormon land `` Cumorah ''. In another account, she said that young Joseph referred to the hill using this description. Joseph Smith 's preeminence as an authority on the Book of Mormon is evinced by the following account given by his mother : During our evening conversations, Joseph, would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of traveling, and the animals upon which they rode ; their cities and buildings, with every particular ; their mode of warfare ; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them. Efforts to associate Joseph Smith with the geographic notions of his contemporaries remain speculative. A note in the handwriting of Frederick G. Williams, a scribe and counselor to Smith, asserts that Lehi 's people landed in South America at thirty degrees south latitude. Early LDS church leader, Orson Pratt also speculated that the Nephite landing site was on the coast of Chile near Valparaiso, but Pratt indicated that this hypothesis was arrived at by supposition, not divine revelation. There is no proof that Williams ' unsigned, undated writing represents a revelation given to Joseph Smith. An official statement by the LDS Church discourages Church members from making too much of the Williams document. Hemispheric models Evidence indicates that early members of the Church did not pay a great deal of attention to Book of Mormon details about distances. The `` Hemispheric '' or `` Two - Continent '' model proposes that Book of Mormon lands stretch many thousands of miles over much of South and North America. There is no first hand, verifiable statement by Joseph Smith endorsing this view. One of the earliest advocates of a hemispheric setting was the young missionary Orson Pratt, who as early as 1832 publicly promoted the idea that Lehi `` crossed the water into South America ''. For some who read the Book of Mormon, with maps of the Western Hemisphere in view, the Isthmus of Panama seems an easy fit for the Book of Mormon 's `` narrow neck of land ''. Pratt claimed that the `` running battle '', culminating in the destruction of the Nephite nation, started at `` the Isthmus of Darien '' ( Panama ) and `` ended at Manchester '' ( western New York ). Pratt never attributed his geography ( or one like it ) to Joseph Smith. Pratt in fact, indicated that the South American landing idea was supposition, not revelation. Pratt 's geographic views were published in the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon, but retracted from later editions. There was no consensus of opinion among early Mormon leaders on the topic of Book of Mormon geography. The hemispheric setting of Apostle Parley P. Pratt, for instance, differed from that of his brother Orson. Strongly influenced by John Lloyd Stephens ' 1841 bestseller, Incident of Travel in Central America, Parley Pratt set various Book of Mormon lands ( including, apparently, the narrow neck ) farther north and west of Panama. As early as 1842, Apostle John E. Page published a more limited, non-hemispheric setting for the Book of Mormon. Page originally placed the narrow neck at the Bay of Honduras ; and by 1848 appears to have relocated the narrow neck more to the northwest. Other LDS, in 1842, figured all of Central America to be the narrow neck. Prior to the influence of John Lloyd Stephens ' popular book, some church members placed the southernmost Nephite land of Manti well within the boundaries of United States territory. In the 1850s the following unsigned statement was circulated among Latter - day Saints : `` The course that Lehi traveled from the city of Jerusalem to the place where he and his family took ship, they traveled nearly a south, southeast direction until they came to the nineteenth degree of North Latitude, then, nearly east to the Sea of Arabia then sailed in a southeast direction and landed on the continent of South America in Chili ( Chile ) thirty degrees south latitude. '' The original is in the handwriting of early church leader Frederick G. Williams, who held a definite opinion on the subject of Book of Mormon geography. The statement was partially rewritten by church authorities Richards and Little and published as a `` Revelation to Joseph the Seer '' - a statement which the original did not contain. The Chilean landing site, promoted in the Williams document, matches Orson Pratt 's geography. Prominent LDS would later call into question the statement 's authority ; but before this would happen, church leaders publicly attributed ( without verification or proof ) features of Orson Pratt 's geography to Joseph Smith. The idea that Lehi landed on the coast of temperate Chile, thousand of miles south of Panama 's narrow neck, and that tropical Colombia 's thousand mile long Magdalena River is the River Sidon, were presented by church scholars as mainstream, majority views in the LDS community. Bagley 1927 model Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Source : JM Sjodahl, An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon, 1927, pp. 415 -- 418. Comer / maeser 1880 model Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is Panama. Source : JA and JN Washburn, An Approach to the Study of the Book of Mormon Geography, Provo, Utah, 1939. Dixon 1958 Source : Just One Cumorah by Riley Lake Dixon, SLC, Bookcraft, 1958 General 1830s Source : John L Sorenson, The Geography of the Book of Mormon : a Source Book, FARMS, 1992, pp. 75 -- 76. Gunsolley 1922 Source : Jeremiah Gunsolley, A Study of the Book of Mormon..., Zions Religio - Literary Society, Herald Publishing House, Lamoni, Iowa, 1917 Hobby / Smith 1988 Source : Michael Hobby and Troy Smith. A Model for Nephite Geography. Zarahemla Quarterly 2 ( 1 ) ( 1988 ) : 4 - 14. Source : Hobby, The Mulekite Connection, Zarahemla Quarterly 2 ( 1 ) ( 1988 ) : 36ff. Ricks pre-1921 By 1921 Joel Ricks of Logan had distributed 6000 copies of his map of Book of Mormon geography. Source : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921, January 14 -- 24. See Joseph Trevor Antley 's extracts of Talmage 's journal : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921 : Book of Mormon Geography Hearings. ( WP : DEADLINK ) Also see the following article : `` PANAMA : An Introduction, '' Michael M. Hobby and Troy J. Smith, Zarahemla Quarterly, Vol Two, No. Two, 1988 ; pp. 4 -- 20. The following rivers were run by Hobby and Hobby, or Hobby and Smith to determine the minimum crossable land constrictions : Rio Bayano ( central Panama ), 22 mile passable width ; Rio Tuira ( eastern Panama ), 40 miles from the southern Bay to the Caribbean, reduced by 25 - 35 % due to the width of the lower Tuira ( However, significant population existed along rivers to the southeast ) ; Rio Chagres ( Canal Zone ), 27 -- 40 miles ; however, former path of the Chagres is obscured by Lake Gatun, not a natural geomorphological feature. Rio Atrato and tributaries flow into the Gulf of Uraba ( also termed the Gulf of Darien, associated with the Darien Gap ) Colombia. The Gulf is located at the southeastern terminus of the North Panamanian Deformed Belt, an arc which determines the shape of the Gulf and the Atrato drainage basin, both of which it underlies, including much of the Atrato, still pronounced along the northern part of its length. Hobby asserts that the massive sediment loads deposited by the Atrato ( and other rivers flowing into the Gulf on it eastern perimeter ) have nearly divided the present gulf in half, due to E / W delta deposits and a highly restricted flow pattern north into the outer gulf he observed in satellite photography. The landlocked lakes to the south were once part of the Gulf. Therefore, he argues that geologic and hydrogeologic data confirm the minimum passable width several thousand years ago was likely as much as 40 % or more less than observed today. Central America models It has been claimed in recent years, that within the Mormon community, more scholars have gravitated toward this general group of geographic scenarios than any other group of theories. While there are disagreements about where the `` narrow neck of land '' resides, e.g. southern Mexico, Honduras, the Isthmus of Rivas between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Panama, the following list of theories can all be categorized as Central American based. Early LDS became engrossed with John Lloyd Stephens ' 1841 bestseller, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Despite Stephens ' own published conclusion that the marvelous stone ruins which he and Frederick Catherwood documented were not of `` great antiquity '', some LDS nevertheless, placed much importance on matching these stone ruins to Book of Mormon cities. For some, this endeavor had higher priority than looking for the narrowest and correctly oriented Mesoamerican isthmus. In time, more Mormon scholars came to realize that the New World Book of Mormon lands were quite localized. The earliest, most limited Central American models were posited by members of the RLDS Church. In one detail, none of these proposed settings are exactly limited geographically : they all require Moroni to have transported the plates and other articles thousands of miles to western New York. LDS apologist Vincent Coon cites non-LDS archaeologist Salvatore Trento, who posits the possibility that Joseph Smith actually discovered buried metal tablets engraved with `` weird markings ''. Trento notes comparable discoveries in Northeastern America which Coon points out are not likely the result of a singular ancient individual traveling thousands of miles from Central or South America. Such finds are consistent with the 19th century `` Mound Builder '' literary setting in which the Book of Mormon is classed by mainstream American History and Literature specialists. Allen 1989 model Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. Source : Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, By Joseph Allen, SA Publishers, Orem, Utah, 1989, pp. 181 -- 390 Christensen 1969 Cheesman 's, The World of the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book, 1978. Davila 1961 model Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. Source : BYU Library, `` An account of our Book of Mormon Lands Tour '', 27 January to 16 February 1961. Delong - steede - simmons 1977 model Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. See FRAA Newsletter 23 ( 11 May 1976 ). Driggs 1925 Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Bay of Honduras, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. Source : Jean Russell Driggs, The Palestine of America, SLC, 1925. Ellsworth 1980 Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is somewhere in Costa Rica, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. Source : Robert B Ellsworth, Lectures Notes on an Interpretation of a Map of Zarahemla and the Land Northward as Described in the Book of Mormon, Ogden, Utah, 1980. Ferguson 1947 Source : Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Cumorah -- Where ?, The author, Oakland, CA, 1947. Ferguson / Hunter 1950 Source : Ferguson, One Fold and One Shepherd, San Francisco : Books of California, 1953, p. 252 Hammond 1959 Source : Fletcher B Hammond, Geography of the Book of Mormon, SLC, 1959 Hansen 1951 Source : Book of Mormon Geography, Saints ' Herald, January 8, 1951. Hauck 1988 Source : F Richard Hauck, Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon : Settlements and Routes in Ancient America. SLC, Deseret Book, 1988. Hills 1917 Source : Louis Edward Hills, Geography of Mexico and Central America from 2234 BC to 421 AD, Independence, Missouri, 1917. Holmes 1903 Source : Robert Holmes, Geographical Sketches of the Book of Mormon, 1903. ( Located in LDS Church historical Dept ) Jakeman 1940s Source : Summarized by Paul R Cheesman, These Ancient Americans, Deseret Book, SLC, 1974, pp. 164 -- 166. Norman 1966 Claims the Narrow Neck of Land is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the basic area is that of Mesoamerica. Young 1921 Willard Young claimed that most of the Book of Mormon scenes were in present - day Guatemala and Honduras. Source : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921, January 14 -- 24. See Joseph Trevor Antley 's extracts of Talmage 's journal : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921 : Book of Mormon Geography Hearings. Ivins 1921 Apostle Anthony W. Ivins suggested that the Book of Mormon lands embraced mainly Yucatan and Mexico. Source : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921, January 14 -- 24. See Joseph Trevor Antley 's extracts of Talmage 's journal : James E. Talmage Journals, 1921 : Book of Mormon Geography Hearings. Heartland models Main article : Heartland Model The `` Heartland '' model or `` Heartland Theory '' of Book of Mormon geography postulates that the Book of Mormon events primarily occurred in the heartland of North America. Among its proposals are that Mound Builders, including the Hopewell and the Adena, were among those peoples described in accounts of events in Book of Mormon books such as Alma and Helaman. The Mississippi River is identified as the River Sidon, and Big Spring ( in Carter County, Missouri ) is identified as being the Waters of Mormon. The Niagara Falls region has been described as the `` narrow neck of land '' mentioned in Alma. In addition, the Appalachian region of Tennessee is claimed by some to be the Land of Nephi. In recent years, this theory, which challenges the traditional paradigm of Central America as a primary location for Book of Mormon geography, has become a `` movement '' among some Latter Day Saints. Proponents see this new model as a way of better supporting the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Fabio T. Sagebin, from Independence MO, proposes another theory based on the Area of Arkansas and Missouri. It has to do with the lowering of the crust of the area of the southern states of USA causing a new topography of that area. The scars left on the strata shows a large area around the Mississippi river. This area would be the East Sea, the same occurs on the west. South America models A dubious, unsigned document in the handwriting of early church leader Frederick G. Williams alleges that Lehi landed 30 degrees South of the equator, in what would be modern day Chile. There are several theories that try to confirm this. Many people who support this group of theories believe that part of South America was under water, and that the continent rose up during the major earthquakes mentioned in the Book of Mormon during Christ 's crucifixion in the Old World. Birrell 1948 The Narrow Neck of land is the Maranon River narrows, or the Andean passes in Southern Ecuador. Source : Verla Birrell, The Book of Mormon Guide Book, SLC, 1948 Priddis 1975 model The narrow neck is from Guayaquil, Ecuador to the Amazon basin, which before Christ was under water. Kocherhans 1986 model The narrow neck is the Andes Mountains around Guayaquil, Ecuador. Great Lakes theories Proponents of the Great Lakes theory adhere to the teachings of LDS Church leaders, official church history, and church canon that identify the hill in Palmyra, New York as the Hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, the place of the final Nephite battle. Great Lakes theories differ in that they incorporate the land of Palmyra, New York as the place of the final Nephite battle and the place where the Jaredite Omer walked. Curtis 1988 model Claims the Narrow Neck is the isthmus between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Holley 1983 Source : Vernal Holley, Book of Mormon Authorship : A Closer Look, Zenos Publications, Ogden, Utah, 1983. Holley held various mid-level LDS leadership positions. See also the Spalding - Rigdon theory. Maps of Holley 's proposed locations : Book of Mormon Locations and Places. Olive 2000 Source : Phyllis Carol Olive, The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon, Printed by Bonneville Books, Springville, Utah, first printing 2000. ISBN 1 - 55517 - 510 - 4, Library of Congress Catalog Number 94 - 98119. For the most current treatment, discussion and map of the setting visit : ( bookofmormonlands.com ) and ( bookofmormonpromisedland.com ) Coon 2009 Source : W. Vincent Coon, Choice Above All Other Lands, Book of Mormon Covenant Lands According to the Best Sources, Printed by Brit Publishing, Salt Lake City, Utah, first printing 2009. ISBN 978 - 0 - 615 - 26543 - 8. Coon ( MS Physics, Hebrew language background ) is an advocate of Olive 's work. ( bookofmormonpromisedland.com ) Alternative theories Some people believe that the Book of Mormon took place in areas outside of the Americas. The African theory Embaye Melekin is the author. Michael R. Ash wrote a review of this theory in 2001. Melekin claims that his book titled, `` Manifestations mysteries revealed, '' has proven `` beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is an African book and about Africans... My book will change the church and the belief of the Mormons drastically. '' The Malay model The Malay Book of Mormon geography model asserts that the Book of Mormon account matches the geography and historical record of the Malay Peninsula. The starting point for this theory is the claim that a 4,000 mile journey to the Malay Peninsula, with appropriate winds and currents from the Middle East, would have been much easier for the Jaredites, Mulekites and Lehites than a 16,000 mile voyage across the Indian and Pacific Oceans ( with no appropriate currents ) to the Americas. The proponent of this theory, Ralph Olsen, notes several hundred reasons that his theory is superior to New World - based explanations. The Malay theory relies upon ongoing linguistic, genetic and archaeological research as a foundation to resolve most of the anachronisms that exist in other Book of Mormon geographies. The Isle of the sea model ( island model ) An island setting for Book of Mormon account was first proposed by Blake Ostler in his Sunstone article titled `` DNA Strands in the Book of Mormon ''. Ostler asserts that the Book of Mormon events must have taken place on an island as was claimed by Jacob after arriving in the promised land. `` For the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea ; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren. '' The Island of the Sea model builds on the work of Ralph Olsen 's Malay model with particular emphasis on genetic, linguistic and archaeological research within Southeast Asia and the Austronesian islands. The Isle of the Sea model also draws on early Judeo - Christian texts such as the Narrative of Zosimus and the History of the Rechabites to position the Book of Mormon as a 5th - century apocryphal text composed in an old world setting, a proposition advanced by Dr. Paul Owen. The Isle of the Sea model proposes that the Islands of the Blessed described in early Judeo - Christian texts are synonymous with those mentioned by Jacob in 2 Nephi 10 : 20. These islands are identified in Greek and Roman sources as the land of the Camarines believed to be associated with the Malay Peninsula, which was known in ancient sources as the Golden Chersonese or the Golden Island ( Suvarnadvipa ), and the islands of the Indonesian archipelago. See also Book of Mormon portal Latter - day Saints portal Origin of the Book of Mormon Historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon Archaeology and the Book of Mormon Footnotes Jump up ^ The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states : `` Church leaders have generally declined to give any opinion on issues of Book of Mormon geography. When asked to review a map showing the supposed landing place of Lehi 's company, President Joseph F. Smith declared that the ' Lord had not yet revealed it ' ( Cannon, p. 160 n. ) In 1929, Anthony W. Ivins, counselor in the First Presidency, added, ' There has never been anything yet set forth that definitely settles that question ( of Book of Mormon geography )... We are just waiting until we discover the truth '' ( CR, Apr. 1929, p. 16 ). While the Church does not currently take an official position with regard to location of geographical places, the authorities do not discourage private efforts to deal with the subject ( Cannon ). '' Jump up ^ Previous to this disclaimer, President George Q. Cannon ( First Counselor in the First Presidency ), had expressed his concern that children might `` be permitted to conceive incorrect ideas concerning the location of the lands inhabited by the Nephites '' from `` agencies which are unreliable ''. ( Cannon, George Q. ( editor ), `` Topics of the Times '', Juvenile Instructor, July 15, 1887, Vol. 22, No. 14, p. 221 ) President Cannon published in the same article the following : `` It is also known that the landing place of Lehi and his family was near what is now known as the city of Valparaiso, in the republic of Chili ( Chile ). The book itself does not give us this information, but there is not doubt of its correctness. '' President Cannon was promoting a prevailing view endorsed by the Church in 1887. ( See for instance Apostle Orson Pratt 's speculative geographic footnotes published in the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon ) Jump up ^ In 1938, Joseph Fielding Smith and his assistants in the Historian 's Office of the Church published, as part of a compilation, an article giving readers the impression that Joseph Smith taught that Lehi `` had landed a little south of the Isthmus of Darien ''. ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 267 ) The Isthmus of Darien ( Panama ) is thousands of miles north of Valparaiso, Chile. The popular LDS work quotes an unsigned Times and Seasons article that was published during a `` short season '' when the official editor of the newspaper ( Joseph Smith ) was publicly absent. ( Times and Season, Sept. 15, 1842, 3 : 921 - 922 ; see also D&C 127, 128 ) The newspaper article, in fact, mentioned Joseph Smith in the third person and there is no proof that he authored the piece. ( Reynolds, George, Commentary on the Book of Mormon ( 1955 ), Vol. 3, pp. 330 - 331 ) Jump up ^ The adjective `` New World '' is justified in that the Book of Mormon seems to prophetically describe the arrival of the Pilgrims, the American War of Independence, and the rise of the United States of America, `` lifted up... above all other nations '', as events taking place on the Book of Mormon covenant land of `` inheritance ''. See 1 Nephi 13 : 10 - 30 Jump up ^ `` West Sea '' and `` East Sea are capitalized as proper nouns in the original 1830 edition ( Book of Mormon ). See pp. 363, 364, 375, and 406. Whereas `` sea west '' ( meaning `` sea '' on the `` west '' ) is not capitalized. ( pp. 412, 437 ) More recent editions make no distinction, in that `` west sea '' is not capitalized. Jump up ^ Skousen says `` sea '' was purposely `` ellipted '' or removed in several cases : compare Alma 22 : 27 ( note that `` east '' and `` west '' are not capitalized in the 1830 Ed. of this verse, pp. 287 - 288 ), Alma 22 : 32 - 33 ( note that `` East '' implies the proper noun East Sea in the 1830 Ed., p. 288 ), Alma 50 : 8 ( note that `` West '' implies the proper noun West Sea, p. 363, 1830 Ed. ), Alma 50 : 34 ( note that `` west '' and `` east '' are not capitalized, p. 365 ), Helaman 4 : 7 ( note that `` East '' implies East Sea, p. 415, 1830 Ed. ). Implicitly, there was a `` sea '' east of Bountiful. Jump up ^ American history scholars place the Book of Mormon in the 19th century literary genre dealing with the mound - builder mystery. The original and academically accepted setting for the Book of Mormon therefore treats the mound - builders of North America. Jump up ^ LDS apologist Coon comments on Joseph Smith 's letter of appreciation for Stephens ' work ; as far as it `` pertains to the antiquities of this country ''. Stephens in fact discusses `` American antiquities '' in `` our own country '' ( the United States ) and lists among other things, `` mounds and fortifications ''. Jump up ^ `` This paper commences my editorial career, I alone stand for it, and shall do for all papers having my signature henceforward. I am not responsible for the publication, or arrangement of the former paper ; the matter did not come under my supervision. JOSEPH SMITH. '' Jump up ^ Prior to his going into hiding in the Fall of 1842, Joseph Smith published several editorials pertaining to the subjects of archaeology and Book of Mormon geography. As both official and acting editor, all of the following Times and Seasons editorials end with his official `` ED '' : `` A CATACOMB OF MUMMIES FOUND IN KENTUCKY '', Vol. 3, No 13, May 2, 1842, p. 781 `` Traits of the Mosaic History, Found Among the Aztaeca Nations '', Vol. 3, No 16, June 15, 1842, p. 818 `` AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES '', Vol. 3, No 18, July 15, 1842, p. 858 This short selection does not include other articles on other subjects which also bear the editor 's `` ED ''. Coon points out that newspapers actively edited by Joseph Smith end as follows : `` The Times and Seasons, IS EDITED BY Joseph Smith. Printed and published about the first and fifteenth of every month, on the corner of Water and Bain Streets, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, by JOSEPH SMITH. '' Whereas editions possibly edited and printed by others ( acting in Joseph Smith 's stead ) end with : `` The Times and Seasons, Is edited, printed and published about the first and fifteenth of every month, on the corner of Water and Bain Streets, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, by JOSEPH SMITH. '' Jump up ^ On the subject of a Mesoamerican Cumorah, Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith said : `` This modernist theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, not withstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years... '' `` It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, ' by interpretation, is large or to exceed all. '... It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York... for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes, and also in the land of many rivers and fountains... '' Jump up ^ Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, who was also aware of the Mesoamerican Cumorah theory, stated that : `` Both the Nephite and the Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah ( or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it )... Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many early brethren, who were familiar with the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah. '' Jump up ^ In a 1953 General Conference, Apostle Mark E. Peterson stated : `` I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America, and the other one in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates. I do not believe we can be good Latter - day Saints and question the integrity of Joseph Smith. '' Jump up ^ The insertion is not taken from any known holograph writing belonging to Joseph Smith. The Prophet 's journal entry for this date ( in the handwriting of Willard Richards, clerk ) makes no mention of Stephens or Catherwood, or of relics. Jump up ^ But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him ; and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty - eight. Jump up ^ W. Vincent Coon cites Doctrine and Covenants 84 : 54 - 57. Jump up ^ Roper notes one other less exaggerated, 19th Century geography set between Colombia and Southern Mexico : Plain Facts for Students of the Book of Mormon, with a Map of the Promised Land ( An anonymous pamphlet, ~ 1887 ) Jump up ^ Coon notes that Pratt 's landing cite at Valparaiso, Chile is essentially the same latitude as proposed in the Williams document ( ~ 33 deg. South Latitude ). Placing Lehi 's landing site as far south of the equator as Jerusalem is north would presumably allow seeds brought from Jerusalem to thrive in the New World. 1 Nephi 18 : 24 Coon however, challenges the logic of this argument as well as the `` extreme '' Indian and Pacific Ocean crossing. Jump up ^ A Mormon newspaper assured its readers that `` cities have been discovered by Mr. Stevens ( Stephens ) in Central America, exactly where the Book of Mormon left them. '' Jump up ^ B.H. Roberts concluded the relatively recent attempt to attribute the statement to Joseph Smith to be untenable. Notes Jump up ^ Clark, John E. ( 1992 ), `` Book of Mormon Geography '', Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pp. 176 -- 179 Jump up ^ Joseph Smith -- History 1 : 34. Jump up ^ Joseph Smith -- History 1 : 36 - 41 Jump up ^ Mormon 6 : 2 - 5 Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 128 : 20 Jump up ^ Per Ether 6 : 16, `` the friends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls ; and they also began sons and daughters before they came to the promised land. '' Jump up ^ Ether 1 : 33 Jump up ^ Tanner, Morgan W. ( 1992 ), `` Jaredites '', Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pp. 717 -- 720 ^ Jump up to : Helaman 3 : 8 Jump up ^ Ether 10 : 19 - 21 Jump up ^ Hoskisson, Paul Y. ( 1992 ), `` Book of Mormon Names '', Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pp. 186 -- 187 ^ Jump up to : Ether 10 : 20 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 30 Jump up ^ Wright, H. Curtis ( 1992 ), `` Mulek '', Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pp. 969 -- 970 Jump up ^ Helaman 1 : 18 Jump up ^ Alma 6 : 7 Jump up ^ 2 Nephi 5 : 7 - 8 Jump up ^ Helaman 14 : 26 3 Nephi 8 : 19 Jump up ^ Mosiah 7 : 4 Jump up ^ Mosiah 23 : 1 - 3 ; 24 : 20, 25 Jump up ^ Alma 49 : 10 ; 51 : 11 ; 53 : 10 Jump up ^ 6 : 7 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 27 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 27 ; 16 : 6 - 7 ; 6 : 7 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 29 Jump up ^ Helaman 4 : 5 - 7 Jump up ^ Royal Skousen, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part Four, FARMS, 2007, p. 2069 Jump up ^ Alma 27 : 20 - 22 ; Alma 51 : 28 - 32 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 31 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 32 Jump up ^ Alma 50 : 34, Mormon 2 : 29 ; 3 : 5 - 8 Jump up ^ 3 Nephi 3 : 23 Jump up ^ Alma 52 : 9 Jump up ^ Alma 22 : 32 ; 63 : 5, Ether 10 : 20 Jump up ^ Ether 9 : 31 - 33 Jump up ^ Alma 50 : 29, Helaman 3 : 3 - 4 Jump up ^ 3 Nephi 4 : 23 ; 3 Nephi 7 : 12 Jump up ^ Ether 15 : 8 - 11, Mormon 6 : 4 - 6 ^ Jump up to : Ether 9 : 3 Jump up ^ Mormon 6 : 1 - 2, Ether 15 : 11 - 14 Jump up ^ Mormon 6 : 15 Jump up ^ Mormon 8 : 2 Jump up ^ Mosiah 8 : 7 - 8 ; 21 : 25 - 26 Jump up ^ Robert Silverberg, `` and the mound - builders vanished from the earth '', American Heritage Magazine, June 1969, Volume 20, Issue 4 Jump up ^ '' Traits of the Mosaic History Found Among the Aztaeca Nations '', Joseph Smith, Editor, Times and Seasons, June 15, 1842, Volume 3, Number 16, pp. 818 - 820. Jump up ^ Letter to John Bernhisel, 16 November 1841, Personal Writing of Joseph Smith, compiled and edited by Dean C. Jessee, p. 533 Jump up ^ Incidents of Travel in Central America, pp. 97 - 98, and Coon, W. Vincent, Choice Above All Other Lands -- Book of Mormon Covenant Lands According to the Best Sources, pp. 75 - 76 Jump up ^ `` `` Church History, '' 1 March 1842, Page 706 ``. josephsmithpapers.org. Retrieved 26 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` American Antiquities '', Times and Seasons, July 15, 1842, Volume 3, number 18, pp. 859 - 60. Jump up ^ `` AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES '', Joseph Smith, Editor, Times and Seasons, July 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No 18, p. 858. Jump up ^ Times and Seasons, July 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No 18, p. 860 Jump up ^ Coon, W Vincent, `` Book of Mormon geography articles signed by Joseph Smith '' Jump up ^ De Groote, Michael, `` Book of Mormon Geography article by Joseph Smith ? '', MORMON TIMES, 30 October 2009 ; Toone, Trent, `` FAIR Conference : Roper 's take on Book of Mormon geography '', MORMON TIMES, 6 August 2010 Jump up ^ Coon, W Vincent, of Mormon geography articles signed by Joseph Smith '', `` Book of Mormon Lands and the Times and Seasons Newspaper '' Jump up ^ Editor, Times and Seasons, March 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No. 9 Jump up ^ Coon, W. Vincent, Choice Above All Other Lands -- Book of Mormon Covenant Lands According to the Best Sources, Ch. 4, `` Unsigned Articles and a Popular Book '', pp. 72 - 104 Jump up ^ `` FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS. '', Times and Seasons, September 15, 1842, Vol. 3, No 22, p. 922. Jump up ^ Coon, Choice Above All Other Lands, pp. 95 - 100 Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 127 : 1 Jump up ^ See for example : Matthew Roper, `` Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon : Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations, section titled `` John Taylor 's View '', BYU Maxwell Institute, 2004, pp. 225 - 76 Jump up ^ `` VALEDICTORY '', Times and Seasons, November 15, 1842, Vol. 4, No. 1 Jump up ^ Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 3, pp. 233 - 234 Jump up ^ Mormon Doctrine : CUMORAH, p. 175 ) Jump up ^ The Improvement Era, June 1953, p. 423 ; 123 Annual Conference of the Church, April 4 -- 6, 1953, General Conference Report, pp. 83 - 84 Jump up ^ Hill 1995, p. 33 `` Sir, Considering the Liberal Principles, '' Joseph Smith to N.C. Saxton, editor, American Revivalist, and Rochester Observer, 4 January 1833 ( from Times and Seasons ( Nauvoo, Illinois ) 5 ( 15 November 1844 ), 21 : 705 - 707 ) Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 28 Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 19 : 27, Doctrine and Covenants 57 : 4, 2 Nephi 30 : 4 Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 10 : 45 - 52, 1 Nephi 14 : 1 - 2 Jump up ^ 3 Nephi 20 : 22, 3 Nephi 21, Ether 13 : 2 - 8 Jump up ^ Doctrine and Covenants 57 : 1 - 4, Doctrine and Covenants 84 Jump up ^ `` Did the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842 Locate Book of Mormon Lands in Middle America ? '', by V. Garth Norman Jump up ^ History of the Church Volume 5, p. 44 Jump up ^ The Papers of Joseph Smith Volume 2, edited by Dean C. Jessee, p. 391 ; see also `` Introduction to Joseph Smith 's Journal '', pp. xxii -- xxv ) Jump up ^ Roberts, Jennifer, The Art Bulletin, `` Landscapes of Indifference ; Robert Smithson and John Lloyd Stephens in Yucatan '', September 1, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith ''. www.lds.org. Retrieved 27 February 2016. Jump up ^ Oliver Cowdery, `` Letter Seven, '' Messenger and Advocate, July 1835 Jump up ^ The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith By His Mother, Edited by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor, Bookcraft, 1996, p. 107 n. 14 ; See also History of Joseph Smith by His Mother Lucy Mack Smith, p. 100 Jump up ^ History of Joseph Smith by His Mother Lucy Mack Smith, p. 83 Jump up ^ U.A.S. Newsletter ( Provo, Utah : University Archaeological Society at Brigham Young University ) January 30, 1963, p. 7. Jump up ^ Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses ( London, England : Albert Carrington, 1869 ), vol. 12 ; p. 342 ; Volume 14, p. 325 ( 1872 ) Jump up ^ Frederick J. Pack ( Chairman of the Gospel Doctrine Committee of the Church ) and George D. Pyper, The Instructor 73, No. 4, 1938, p. 160. Jump up ^ Coon, `` How Exaggerated Settings for the Book of Mormon Came to Pass '' Jump up ^ Roper, Matthew, `` Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon : Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations '', see section titled `` Hemispheric Interpretations of Book of Mormon Geography '', Maxwell Institute, 2004 Jump up ^ Roper cites Pratt 's comments as published in `` The Orators of Mormonism '', Catholic Telegraph, 14 April 1832, a reprint from the Mercer Free Press. Similar statements were published ( early 1832 ) in the Franklin Democrat, another Pennsylvania newspaper. Jump up ^ Pratt, Orson, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 14, p. 325 Jump up ^ Roper, Matthew, `` Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon : Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations '', see section titled `` Parley P. Pratt 's View '', Maxwell Institute, 2004 ^ Jump up to : Roper, Matthew, `` Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon : Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations '', see section titled `` John E. Pages View '', Maxwell Institute, 2004 Jump up ^ '' Extract from Stephen 's `` Incidents of Travel in Central America '', Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, No. 22, Sept. 15, 1842, p. 911 Jump up ^ Millennial Star, `` History of Joseph Smith '', May 13, 1854, Vol. 16, p. 296 ; see also Journal of Samuel D. Tyler, Sept. 25, 1838 Jump up ^ Richards, Franklin D. and Little, James A., A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, 1882 edition, p. 289 Jump up ^ Pack, Frederick J. ( Gospel Doctrine Committee Chair ) and Pyper, George D. ( asst. ed. of The Instructor ), `` ROUTE TRAVELED BY LEHI AND HIS COMPANY '', The Instructor, Vol. 73. No. 4, April 1938, p. 160 ; see also Roberts, B.H., New Witness for God, Vol. 3, pp. 501 - 503 Jump up ^ Cannon, George Q. ( editor ), `` Topics of the Times '', Juvenile Instructor, July 15, 1887, Vol. 22, No. 14, p. 221 Jump up ^ Coon, W. Vincent, Choice Above All Other Lands -- Book of Mormon Covenant Lands According to the Best Sources, pp. 64 - 69 Jump up ^ Reynolds, George, Commentary on the Book of Mormon ( 1955 ), Vol. 1, pp. 14, 189, 190 ; Vol. 2, pp. 6, 308 - 309, 376, 381 ; Vol. 3, pp. 311, 312, 315, 330 - 331 ; Vol. 4, p. 237 ; Dictionary of the Book of Mormon ( 1954 ), pp. 208 - 209, 238, 253, 255, 285, 326 ; see also Roberts, B.H., Seventies Course in Theology, First Year, p. 118 ; Smith, Joseph Fielding, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, pp. 73 - 74 ; McConkie, Bruce R, The Millennial Messiah, p. 206 Jump up ^ Stephens, John Lloyd, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, Vol. II, Ch. XXVI, `` COMPARATIVE MODERN DATE OF RUINS '', pp. 442 - 443 Jump up ^ Times and Seasons, April 1, 1845, Vol. 6, No. 6, p. 855 Jump up ^ Roper, Matthew, `` Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon : Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations '', Maxwell Institute, 2004 Jump up ^ See Hills, L.E., Geography of Mexico and Central America from 2234 BC to 421 AD, Independence, Missouri, 1917 ; A Short Work on the Popol Vuh and the Traditional History of the Ancient Americans by Ixt - lil - xochitl ( Independence, MO, 1918 ) ; New Light on American Archaeology ( Independence, MO, Lambert Moon, 1924 ) ; see also Gunsolley, J.F., `` More Comment on Book of Mormon Geography '', Saints Herald 69 / 46 ( 1922 ), 1074 - 1076 Jump up ^ Trento, Salvatore M., Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America, pp. 240 - 244 Jump up ^ Coon, W. Vincent, Olive 's Near Cumorah Setting by Deduction and Best Fit Jump up ^ Silverberg, Robert, ``... and the mound - builders vanished from the earth '', American Heritage Magazine, June 1969 Jump up ^ Deseret News Jump up ^ FIRM Jump up ^ Groote, Michael De. `` The fight over Book of Mormon geography ''. deseretnews.com. Retrieved 24 April 2016. Jump up ^ Moulton, Kristen. `` Book of Mormon geography stirring controversy ''. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 24 April 2016. Jump up ^ Roberts, B.H., New Witness for God, Vol. 3, pp. 501 - 503 Jump up ^ Priddis, Venice, The Book and the Map -- New Insights into Book of Mormon Geography Jump up ^ Priddis, Venice ( 1975 ). The Book and the Map : New Insights into Book of Mormon Geography. Salt Lake City, Utah : Bookcraft. ISBN 0 - 88494 - 277 - 5. Jump up ^ Lehi 's Isle of Promise, by Arthur J Kocherhans, Salt Lake City, 1990. Jump up ^ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1956, vol. 3, pp. 232 - 243. Jump up ^ LATTER DAY SAINTS ' MESSENGER AND ADVOCATE, Volume I. No. 1. KIRTLAND, OHIO, OCTOBER, 1834, pp. 12, 157 - 158 ) Jump up ^ D&C 128 : 20 Jump up ^ Ether 9 : 3 Jump up ^ The Land of the Nephites, by Delbert W. Curtus, American Fork, Utah. Jump up ^ Olive, Phyllis Carol, `` Nephite Territory in a Nutshell '', Book of Mormon Lands in Western NY Jump up ^ Coon, W. Vincent, CHOICE ABOVE ALL OTHER LANDS Jump up ^ Olsen, Ralph A. ( March 2004 ). `` A Malay Site for Book of Mormon Events '' ( PDF ). Sunstone. pp. 30 -- 34. Retrieved 26 October 2008. Jump up ^ Ostler, Blake ( 2005 ). `` DNA Strands in the Book of Mormon ''. Jump up ^ 2 Nephi 10 : 20 - 21 Jump up ^ Owen, Paul ( 2014 ). `` Theological Apostasy and the Role of Canonical Scripture : A Thematic Analysis of 1 Nephi 13 -- 14 '' ( PDF ). Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. pp. 81 -- 100. Jump up ^ della Dora, Veronica ( 2016 ). `` Landscape, Nature, and the Sacred in Byzantium ''. p. 101. Jump up ^ Braginsky, Vladimir ( 1998 ). `` Two Eastern Christian Sources on Medieval Nusantara ''. References Ludlow, Daniel H., ed. ( 1992 ), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York : Macmillan Publishing, ISBN 0 - 02 - 879602 - 0, OCLC 24502140 Sorenson, John L. ( 1992 ), The Geography of Book of Mormon Events : A Source Book ( Rev. ed. ), Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, OCLC 35363524 Further reading Ash, Michael R. ( 2001 ), `` Lehi of Africa ( Review ) '', FARMS Review of Books, 13 ( 2 ) : 5 -- 20 Hamblin, William J. 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Question: when does the book of mormon take place
Answer: from 2500 BC to 400 AD