Book of Mormon/Geography/LDS models table

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Model Name	Date Proposed	Scope	Narrow Neck	Land North	Land South	Cumorah	River Sidon	Nephi's Landing	Religion	Type of model
Tyler n.d.	n.d		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Lauritzen n.d.	n.d.		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
General 1830s	1830	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Magdalena?	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Times and Seasons 1842	1842	HGT?	Unclear	Tehuantepec-NY?	Unclear	New York	Unclear	Colombia	LDS	External	edit
Pratt 1866	1866	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Magdalena	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Com.-Maes 1880	1880	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Magdalena	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Reynolds 1880	1880	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Magdalena	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Plain Facts 1887	1887	HGT	Panama	Guatemala	South America	New York?	Magdalena	Chile?	LDS	Minimal external	edit
Roberts 1888	1888	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Magdalena	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Ricks 1904	1904	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	Unclear	Magdalena	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Young pre-1920?	1920	LGT	Other	Guatemala	Honduras-El Salvador	Guatemala	Ulna	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Driggs 1925	1925	HGT	Honduras Bay	Panama to NY	Southern Guatemala	Guatemala	Ulna	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Bagley 1927	1927	HGT	Belize-Yucatan base	South-Central Mexico	Unclear	New York	Unclear	Unclear	LDS	External	edit
Sjodhal 1927	1927	HGT	Tehuantepec	Tehuantepec-NY	Unclear	New York	Unclear	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Washburn/Washburn 1939	1939		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Jakeman 1940s	1940	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Central Mexico	Usumacinta	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Laytons 1940?	1940	HGT	Tehuantepec	Tehuantepec-NY	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	New York	Usumacinta	Unclear	LDS	Internal and Minimal External	edit
Ferguson 1947	1947		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Wilde 1947	1947	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America?	New York	Unclear	Chile?	LDS	External	edit
Birrell 1948	1948	LGT	Other	Ecuador-Colombia	Peru and south	In South America	In Peru	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Ferguson-Hunter 1950	1950	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Southern Veracruz	Usumacinta?	Central America	LDS	Minimal internal & external	edit
Pierce 1954	1954	LGT	Other	Yucatan Peninsula	Unclear	Guatemala	Ulna	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Sorenson 1955	1955	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Tehuantepec - El Salvador	Southern Veracruz	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Dixon 1958	1958	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	New York	Unclear	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Hammond 1959	1959	LGT	Tehuantepec?	Unclear	Tehuantepec - El Salvador?	Central Mexico?	Usumacinta	Chile	LDS	Internal and Minimal External	edit
Lowe 1960a	1960	LGT	Honduras Bay	Guatemala	Other	Guatemala	Unclear	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Lowe 1960b	1960	LGT	Other	Unclear	Other	Southern Veracruz?	Usumacinta	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Vincent 1960?	1960	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Central Mexico	Usumacinta?	Central America?	LDS	External	edit
Warren 1960	1960	LGT	Tehuantepec?	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Central Mexico	Usumacinta	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Warren 1961	1961	LGT	Unclear	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Southern Veracruz	Usumacinta	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Ludlow n.d.	1964		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Norman 1966	1966	LGT	Tehuantepec?	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan?	Unclear	Usumacinta	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Christensen 1969	1969	LGT	Belize-Yucatan base	Yucatan Peninsula	Unclear	Guatemala?	Ulna	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Lowe 1970s	1970	LGT	Other	Unclear	Other	Southern Veracruz?	Usumacinta	Central America?	LDS	External	edit
Priddis 1975	1975	LGT	Other	Ecuador-Colombia	Other	In South America	Unclear	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Ludlow 1976	1976		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Robison 1977	1977	LGT	Belize-Yucatan base	Yucatan Peninsula	Southern Guatemala	Guatemala	Usumacinta	Unclear	LDS	External	edit
Ellsworth 1980	1980	LGT	Other	Unclear	Other	Unclear	Other	Central America	LDS	Internal & limited external	edit
Palmer 1981	1981	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Tehuantepec - El Salvador	Southern Veracruz	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Holley 1983	1983	LGT	Niagara peninsula	Lower Canada?	NY, Penn, Ohio	New York	Genesse	New England coast	LDS	External	edit
Porritt 1985	1985	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Southern Veracruz	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Kocherhans 1986	1986	LGT	Other	Ecuador-Colombia	Peru and south	In South America	In Peru	Chile	LDS	External	edit
Nielson 1987	1987		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Sahlin 1987	1987	LGT	Unclear	Unclear	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Unclear	Grijalva	Unclear	LDS	External	edit
Warren 1987	1987	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Tehuantepec - El Salvador	Southern Veracruz	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Curtis 1988	1988	LGT	Niagara Peninsula	Unclear	Other	New York	Unclear	Unclear	LDS	External	edit
Hauck 1988	1988	LGT	Other	Unclear	Southern Guatemala	Southern Veracruz	Other	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Hobby-Smith 1988	1988	HGT	Panama	Panama to NY	South America	Central Mexico	Unclear	Chile?	LDS	External	edit
Proctor 1988	1988		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Qulter 1988	1988	LGT	Belize-Yucatan base	Yucatan Peninsula	Southern Guatemala	Unclear	Other	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Allen 1989	1989	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Southern Veracruz	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit
Clark 1989	1989		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	LDS	Internal	edit
Olive 2001	2001	LGT	[needs work]	[needs work]	[needs work]	[needs work]	[needs work]	[needs work]	LDS	[needs work]	edit
Goble-May 2002	2002	LGT	Niagara Peninsula	New York/Upper Canada	Eastern US/Midwest	New York	Mississippi	Gulf of Mexico	LDS	External	edit
Pate 2002	2002	LGT	Bridge over Samalá River (Mukulic-ya) at Santa Crúz Muluá, Guatemala	Mam Culture, Western Pacific Piedmont of Guatemala	Cotzumalhuapa Culture, Southern Pacific Piedmont of Guatemala.	Cumarkah (Utatlán) Santa Crúz del Quiché, Guatemala.	There are two -- Pantaleon (Alma 2:15) and Michatoya (Alma 16:6), Guatemala	Acajutla, El Salvador	LDS	External with complete internal correlation	edit
Meldrum 2003	2003?	LGT	Niagara Peninsula	Upper Canada	Mississippi river system to Gulf of Mexico	New York	Mississippi	Gulf of Mexico	LDS	External	edit
Goble 2004	2004	LGT/HGT	Tehuantepec	From Tehuantepec Northward	Mesoamerica/Preclassic Maya	New York	Undetermined	Undetermined	LDS	External	edit
Poulsen 2004	2004	LGT	Tehuantepec	South-Central Mexico	Southern Mesoamerica, incl Yucatan	Tepetzintla (further North than Veracruz)	Grijalva	Central America	LDS	External	edit

Table based on John L. Sorenson, The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book (Provo, Utah: FARMS, revised edition, 1992), 32. AISN B0006QHZWE. off-site with additions and corrections by FAIR Wiki editors.

Book of Mormon geography models in table form:

• By Author
  • All models by author name
  • LDS models
  • RLDS models
  • Critics' models
  • Miscellaneous models
• By Date
  • All models by date of authorship
• By Scope
  • Hemispheric geography theory (HGT) models
  • Limited geography theory (LGT) models
• By Type
  • External (real world) models
  • Internal models - describes relationship between Book of Mormon places, but no attempt at real-world correlate

Book of Mormon Geography

Topics

The geographical setting of the Book of Mormon has been the subject of serious study and casual speculation since before the book was first published. The Church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to Book of Mormon geography, as is FAIR. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each.

• Old World—
  Old World or Arabian, geography - this considers the journey from Jerusalem to Old World Bountiful, where Nephi constructed the ship. (Link)
• New World—
  New World geography - location of the majority of the Book of Mormon narrative, in the "promised land"—somewhere in the western hemisphere. (Link)
  • Hemispheric geography theory (HGT)—The Hemispheric Geography Theory (or HGT) is the traditional understanding of the Book of Mormon. It postulates that the events in the book took place over North and South America, with the Isthmus of Panama as the narrow neck of land. (Link)
  • Limited geography theory (LGT)—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. 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. (Link)
  • Hill Cumorah (New York) archaeology—What do we know about the archaeology of the drumlin from which Joseph Smith recovered the plates? (Link)
• Statements—
  Statements made by Church leaders, members, and publications about Book of Mormon geography issues (Link)
  • No revealed geography—A collection of statements indicating that there is no revealed geography for the Book of Mormon (these quotes are also in the collections below, by date). (Link)
  • Statements by Hugh Nibley—LDS scholar Hugh Nibley is sometimes cited out of context by advocates of a geography theory who wish to claim his support for their ideas. They do this to disguise that Nibley argued for Mesoamerican involvement in the Book of Mormon. All of Nibley's statements should be considered if one wishes to know what he thought. (Link)
• Models—
  Book of Mormon geographical models (Link)
• Disdaining Joseph?—
  Do LDS scholars "disdain" the statements of Joseph Smith related to Book of Mormon geography? (Link)
• "Continent"—
  With regard to the location of Book of Mormon lands, it is sometimes claimed that "[t]here's a North American continent and a South American continent in Noah Webster's [1850] dictionary," and that this means that all references to "this continent" must refer to North America. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines a ""continent"" as follows: "1. In geography, a great extent of land, not disjoined or interrupted by a sea; a connected tract of land of great extent; as the Eastern and Western continent. It differs from an isle only in extent. New Holland may be denominated a continent. Britain is called a continent, as opposed to the isle of Anglesey." Therefore, Webster's definition of a "Eastern and Western continent" is equivalent to today's definition of "Eastern and Western hemisphere." (Link)
• Location of Zarahemla—
  It is claimed that the location of the city of Zarahemla was provided to Joseph Smith through revelation and that it was located on the Mississippi River opposite where Nauvoo is located today. (Link)
• Borders of the Lamanites—
  Critics claim that the proposal of a Mesoamerican limited geographical Book of Mormon setting contradicts D&C 54:8, which discusses the "borders of the Lamanites" being in North America. (Link)
• Hoaxes related to Book of Mormon geography—
  Sometimes falsified artifacts are used to promote a Book of Mormon geography (Link)

• • Bat Creek Stone—The "Bat Creek Stone" purports to a stone written in Paleo-Hebrew reading "for the Jews". A preponderance of the evidence available argues that the stone is a modern forgery. (Link)
  • Burrows Cave artifacts—The Burrows Cave collection is a group of "artifacts" supposedly found in a Cave in Illinois, named after Russell Burrows, the person who initially found the cave. To this day, Burrows Cave enthusiasts have never demonstrated the existence of the cave. The artifacts contain many obvious hallmarks of modern manufacture, including the so-called "mystic symbol" found on artifacts in the Michigan artifacts collection. This is offered as evidence that the hoaxers deliberately meant to associate these artifacts with the Michigan collection. Some LDS people have fallen prey to those who push these artifacts as genuine. (Link)  ^{[needs work]}
  • Michigan artifacts—The "Michigan Artifacts" or "Michigan relics" are a group of "artifacts" produced by hoaxers in the late 19th century and around the turn of the 20th Century from Michigan. They wanted to produce "proof" of the existence of the ancient civilization known in 19th century lore as the Mound Builders. Many contain scenes from biblical stories. Some LDS members have been misled into believing that the artifacts are genuine. Not surprisingly, advocates of the Michigan artifacts also push the Burrows Cave collection. (Link)  ^{[needs work]}
  • Newark Decalogue Stone—These items, which were presented to the public in 1860, have Hebrew writing on them. Some have used them as evidence for the Book of Mormon, but this is problematic on two grounds: (1) the items may be modern forgeries; and (2) even if authentic, the writing dates to around AD 100-300, which is too late to represent the 600 BC Lehi colony. (Link)  ^{[needs work]}
• No maps in the Book of Mormon—
  Critics claim that the Church has no official position on geography of the Book of Mormon because the lands in the Book of Mormon never existed. (Link)
• Transoceanic Crossing—
  The Book of Mormon, in 1 Nephi chapters 17 and 18, recounts that Nephi built a ship in which the Lehi colony sailed from the old world to the new. In June 2010 the History Channel aired a documentary, "Who Really Discovered America?" which claims that it would have been impossible for a ship (such as that made by Nephi) to have successfully carried the people and necessary supplies in a transoceanic crossing. (Link)