The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-21
PADEN ATTACKS
BOOK OF NEPHl
Points Out Alleged Geographic
cal Inconsistencies.
DECLARES THE WORK VAGUE
--$--
THINKS THERE SHOULD BE
MORE TANGIBLE RELICS.
DECLARES THE WORK VAGUE

DIR. W. NJ. Paden preached on THE
Fifth Gospel again at the First Pres
byterian church last evening. The sub
5ect Of the second sermon was. Does
the Gospel According to Nephi Fit the
Jsthmus Of Panama."
The speaker mentioned the fact that
all the conspicuous places mentioned in
the Bible as figuring in the life of
Christ could be found now. Bethlehem.
Nazareth. the Mount Of Olives and all
the other places can be identified. The
natural scenery is as described I'm the
Bible: the flowers and animals there
told about are the kinds now found in
Palestine.
Il have not been able TO find an edi-
tion of the Book of Mormon with
maps in it, he said. Nor have I been
able 10 find anywhere with any surety
The location OF the land in which Christ
IS supposed to have appeared TO the
Nephites. The main plot Of the story,
however, seems to be laid somewhere
iu the southern part of North America
or the northern part Of South America.
possibly Colombia and the Isthmus OF
Panama. or one thing we are certain.
there is a marked contrast between
the realistic defniteness of our recog-
niZed gospels and the rOmance-like in
Nephi.
Landmarks Declared Missing.
When we come to search for land
marks-for exsiinple 1.-The temple which
was i'm the Land of Bountiful, or any
Of the cities mentioned-we are still
more at sea: so much at sea. indeed,
that we are asked to fan back on Ne
phis declaration that the great cities
OF Iaratemla, MOroni Moroniha. tiadi-
andi Gadiomnah and JacObugath were
burned. sunk into the depths of the sea.
covered with earth, or shook until the
buildings thereof had fallen and the
places thereof left desolate" il would
bseem that the good Nephites who were
not burned. swallowed up nor blown
away might have left some landmarks.
But this does not tell the whole
story of Nephi's indefniteness. We
md almost nothing i'm this sO-called
record which fits i'm well with the trOp-
zeal climate and conditions which pre-
Vail in the Isthmus of Panama and the
adjoining country. The flora and fauna
are either quoted from the recognized
scriptures or are much more nearly in
accord with the flora and fauna of
western Pennsylvania or New York
tnan with what we would expect of
tropical America"
Inconsistent About Horses.
He spoke Of the mention of horses by
N'phi- and said it is generally known
horses were introduced into that coun-
Try by the Spaniards. although there
are fossils of horses that evidently lived
many ages before the time of Christ
it was stated that the country de-
scrlbed i'm the book of Nephi is rad
lcally different from the Nephite coun-
Try today. He quoted cone of the most
lnteiligent and candid believers in the
book as accounting for this discrep-
ancy with the suggestion that the
whole form of the Book of Norman
country was changed by the awful con
HD,Slsllns-o OF nature -atethe time OF the
AeSsiah's eTucifxion."
This may account for the fact"
went ON Dr. Paden. that Nephi. :who
made his record Immediately after this
cataciysnl. doesn't Seem TO know very
deIlntely where he is at The apolo-
gust whom I have quoted attempts to
buttress his hypothesis by citing tho
Iact that great changes haze occurred
lu the Andes and Panama region with
ll comparatively recent 10 geological
times. He knows less OF geology than
mink he does If he considers the wear
't A. u. as coming within this cate
CORY
The whole attempt to account for
me Vagaries of Nephite. geographv IN.
JUS seeming disagreement or fsiIure 10
c'hne9 with tropical South America is
an exposition of the weakness of the
c3lm made by the goSpeI. OF Nephf. and
tne Whole Book of Mormon 10 he a
trustworthy document"