Book of Mormon geography/New World/Limited Geography Theory

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Contents

Limited geography theory

Overview

The Limited Geography Theory (or LGT) is a non-traditional interpretation of the text, but one that has gained wide acceptance among the Book of Mormon scholars and readers over the last 60 years.[1] It is based on a close reading of the text, which indicates that the lands inhabited by the Lehites could be traversed on foot in only a few weeks, making the area no larger than present-day California.

Advantages of this model:

  • a limited model seems to match the textual information about distance with much greater accuracy
  • a limited model offers a more realistic fit for an ancient society, which would have had great difficulties travelling or communicating over the vast distances required by the HGT
  • a limited model potentially restricts Book of Mormon peoples to an area which matches regions (e.g., such as Mesoamerica) known to have had high culture, city-building, written language, etc.

Disadvantages include:

  • many Church members are unfamiliar with the basis for this model, having not paid close attention to issues of distance and travel times, since they have been more focused on the spiritual details of the Book of Mormon instead of its mundane details.
  • most early members and leaders of the Church have, when they made geography explicit at all, tended to adopt a hemispheric model
  • being a "newer" model, critics claim that advocates of the LGT are 'changing the Church's story' about the Book of Mormon, even though the Church has been clear that it had no official or revealed Book of Mormon geography.
  • placing the model exactly becomes more difficult, since a smaller geography can 'fit' more than one potential location.

Questions related to the Limited Geography Theory

The Church does not take an official position on this issue

Main articles: Fallibility of prophets and Changing doctrine

This is one of many issues about which the Church has no official position. As President J. Reuben Clark taught under assignment from the First Presidency:

Here we must have in mind—must know—that only the President of the Church, the Presiding High Priest, is sustained as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for the Church, and he alone has the right to receive revelations for the Church, either new or amendatory, or to give authoritative interpretations of scriptures that shall be binding on the Church....
When any man, except the President of the Church, undertakes to proclaim one unsettled doctrine, as among two or more doctrines in dispute, as the settled doctrine of the Church, we may know that he is not "moved upon by the Holy Ghost," unless he is acting under the direction and by the authority of the President.
Of these things we may have a confident assurance without chance for doubt or quibbling.
—J. Reuben Clark, Jr. "When Are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?" Address to Seminary and Institute Teachers, BYU (7 July 1954); reproduced in Church News (31 July 1954); also reprinted in Dialogue 12/2 (Summer 1979): 68–81.]

This was recently reiterated by the First Presidency (who now approves all statements published on the Church's official website):

Not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church. With divine inspiration, the First Presidency...and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications. This doctrine resides in the four “standard works” of scripture (the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price), official declarations and proclamations, and the Articles of Faith. Isolated statements are often taken out of context, leaving their original meaning distorted.
—LDS Newsroom, "Approaching Mormon Doctrine," lds.org (4 May 2007) off-site]

(For further discussion of this principle see: FAIR wiki article: Official Church doctrine and statements by Church leaders.)

Other Wiki Pages

Details: To see specific limited geography models, click here.
Book of Mormon geography models in table form:

Endnotes

  1. [back]  For the history of the LGT, see Matthew Roper, "Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon: Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 225–276. off-site PDF link

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Book of Mormon Geography

FAIR web site

Book of Mormon geography FAIR links
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Geography of the Book of Mormon FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: New World Context FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Old World Context FAIR link

Videos

Nephi's Neighbors: Some LDS Perspectives on Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations, Matthew Roper, 2003 FAIR Conference

External links

Book of Mormon geography articles
  • Anonymous, "Nahom and the "Eastward" Turn," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003): 113–114. off-site PDF link wiki
  • Warren P. Aston, "The Arabian Bountiful Discovered? Evidence for Nephi's Bountiful," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 (1998): 4–11. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
  • Warren P. Aston, "Newly Found Altars from Nahom," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001): 56–61. off-site PDF link wiki
  • Warren P. Aston, "Review of Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia by Lynn M. and Hope A. Hilton," FARMS Review of Books 9/1 (1997): 15–24. off-site PDF link
  • S. Kent Brown, "New Light: "The Place That Was Called Nahom": New Light from Ancient Yemen," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999): 66–67. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
  • S. Kent Brown and Terry B. Ball and Arnold G. Green, "Planning Research on Oman: The End of Lehi's Trail," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 (1998): 12–21. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
  • Jeffrey R. Chadwick, "The Wrong Place for Lehi's Trail and the Valley of Lemuel (Review of: Lehi in the Wilderness)," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 197–215. off-site PDF link
  • Allen J. Christenson, "Linguistic Puzzles Still Unresolved (Review of: Mapping the Book of Mormon: A Comprehensive Geography of Nephite America)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 107–112. off-site PDF link
  • John E. Clark, "Evaluating the Case for a Limited Great Lakes Setting," FARMS Review of Books 14/1 (2002): 9–78. off-site PDF link
  • John E. Clark, "A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies (Review of Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon by F. Richard Hauck)," FARMS Review of Books 1/1 (1989): 20–70. off-site
  • John Clark, "The Final Battle for Cumorah (Review of Christ in North America by Delbert W. Curtis)," FARMS Review of Books 6/2 (1994): 79–113. off-site PDF link
  • John E. Clark, "Two Points of Book of Mormon Geography: A Review (Review of The Land of Lehi by Paul Hedengren)," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 1–24. off-site PDF link
  • John E. Clark, "Searching for Book of Mormon Lands in Middle America (Review of: Sacred Sites: Searching for Book of Mormon Lands)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 1–54. off-site PDF link
  • J. Christopher Conkling, "Alma's Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005): 108–117. off-site PDF link wiki
  • Brant Gardner, "An Exploration in Critical Methodology: Critiquing a Critique (Review of: “Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events,” Dialogue 35/3 (2002): 161–97)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 173–224. off-site PDF link
    Replies to Earl M. Wunderli
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "What is the Significance of Zelph In The Study Of Book of Mormon Geography?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999): 70–79. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
  • William J. Hamblin, "A Stumble Forward? (Review of Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon by F. Richard Hauck)," FARMS Review of Books 1/1 (1989): 71–77. off-site
  • William J. Hamblin, "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/1 (1993): 161–197. off-site PDF link wiki off-site GL direct link (Key source)
  • John L. Hilton and Janet F. Hilton, "A Correlation of the Sidon River and the Lands of Manti and Zarahemla with the Southern End of the Rio Grijalva (San Miguel)," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992): 142–162. off-site PDF link wiki
  • Joel C. Janetski, "Review of The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book by John L. Sorenson," FARMS Review of Books 3/1 (1991): 150–153. off-site<
  • L. Ara Norwood, "Bountiful Found (Review of In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful by Warren P. Aston and Michaela Knoth Aston)," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 85–90. off-site PDF link
  • David A. Palmer, "Review of The Land of the Nephites by Delbert W. Curtis," FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): 67–73. off-site
  • David A. Palmer, "Review of American Book of Mormon Map by Paul D. Proctor," FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): 205–206. off-site
  • George Potter, "A New Candidate in Arabia for the "Valley of Lemuel"," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999): 54–63. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
  • Lawrence Poulsen, bomgeography.poulsenll.org off-site (Key source)
  • Michael J. Preece, "Review of Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon by Joseph L. Allen," FARMS Review of Books 3/1 (1991): 32–51. off-site
  • Randall P. Spackman, "Interpreting Book of Mormon Geography (Review of Mormon's Map)," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 19–46. off-site PDF link
  • John L. Sorenson, "Review of Mapping the Action Found in the Book of Mormon by Harold K. Nielsen," FARMS Review of Books 1/1 (1989): 119–120. off-site
  • Mark V. Withers, "Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon (Review of Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon by F. Richard Hauck)," FARMS Review of Books 1/1 (1989): 78–79. off-site

Printed material

Book of Mormon geography printed works
  • Warren P. Aston and Michaela Knoth Aston, In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 1. ISBN 0875798470
  • John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1996 [1985]), . ISBN 1573451576. GospeLink (Key source)
  • John L. Sorenson, Mormon's Map (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2000), 1. ISBN 0934893489. (Key source)
  • John L. Sorenson, The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book (Provo, Utah: FARMS, revised edition, 1992), 1. AISN B0006QHZWE. off-site (Key source)
  • John W. Welch, "A Day and a Half's Journey for a Nephite" in John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (eds.), Rediscovering the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 187–189. ISBN 0875793878. off-site GospeLink GL direct link
  • John W. Welch, "Wind and Currents: A Look at Nephi's Ocean Crossing," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 53–56. ISBN 0875796001 off-site FAIR link GospeLink GL direct link
Retrieved from "http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon_geography/New_World/Limited_Geography_Theory"
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