The Evolution of Anti-Mormonism
No Book of Mormon Cities Have Been Found
Accusation #5: A current popular anti-Mormon accusation is that there has been no Book of Mormon cities found in the Americas.
Response #5: A professional LDS archaeologist, educated with a PhD in anthropology, F. Richard Hauck, performed a research on The Book of Mormon. The results of this research are found in Doctor Hauck’s book, Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon . Doctor Hauck “ took descriptions directly out of The Book of Mormon and constructed a “geographical model.” He used symbols for cities, roads, wilderness areas, mountains, rivers, oceans and etc. He used the distances between these locations as described in The Book of Mormon…like it took two days to go from one city to another. For an example, he used the logical amount of time that a person could walk in two days to distinguish distances. The entire network that Doctor Hauck produced and an entire legend of all symbols and numbers can be found in Doctor Hauck’s book.
Once Doctor Hauck completed the abstract “geographical model,” he compared it with each location in the South and North American continent. He started in the furthest southern tip of South America and worked his way to the furthest northern part of North America. The geographical model fit in only one location in the Americas – the Central American area. Specifically in South Mexico and the North Guatamala.
In this Central American area, previously known ancient ruins are located in the same areas as the ancient settlements and fortifications that are described in The Book of Mormon.” This geographical modeled map has also led to a few discoveries of previously unknown ancient city locations!
Another professional researcher and chemical engineer performed his own similar project on locating Book of Mormon cities and sites. In Doctor David A. Palmer’s book, In Search of Cumorah, New Evidences for the Book of Mormon from Ancient Mexico, many of the ancient American geological sites are also mapped.
A simple comparison of Doctor Palmer’s map with Doctor Hauck’s map reveals many locations that may correlate Book of Mormon cities with actual ancient archaeological sites. A detail study of these books will continue to reveal how actual archaeological discoveries support The Book of Mormon.
The appropriate question here is not…what did the anti-Mormons do with this evidence? The appropriate question is what are the current anti-Mormons charging this accusation going to do about these pieces of facts and evidences?
- The true intent of the heart of the anti-Mormon claiming this the next accusations will be revealed!
- With the teachings that Joseph Smith taught at the age of 15 to 21, which are now miraculously fact, and the current accusations that are being proven archeologically wrong, the anti-Mormons have to dig deep into their hearts.
- The anti-Mormons whose hearts choose to ignore fact and evidence will do as the anti-Mormons of old—they will go to the next accusation.
- The anti-Mormons whose hearts are sincere in seeking truth and following the true Christ of the Bible will read The Book of Mormon and follow the promise made by the prophet Moroni.
There is another remnant of an ancient society in south Mexico that are called the Olmecs. Nobody knows where the Olmecs came from or where they went. Archeological dating has placed them before 500 BC.
What little I know about the Olmec locations and dating, The Book of Mormon relates the history of a Jewish people that came to the Americas at the time of the Tower of Babel and the history in The Book of Mormon has them down to around 300 to 400 BC.
Now, are these Olmecs the same people that are related in the Book of Ether in The Book of Mormon? They could be! The location maps out correctly and preliminary datings are pretty closely matched.
Is this another record of the Book of Mormon that is actually located in the Central American area? It is highly possible!
