An Ancient American Setting For The Book Of Mormon

The author demonstrates that the Book of Mormon is a native Mesoamerican book (or codex) that exhibits what one would expect of a historical document produced in the context of ancient Mesoamerican civilization. He also shows that scholars' discoveries about Mesoamerica and the contents of the Nephite record are clearly related, listing more than 400 points where the Book of Mormon text corresponds to characteristic Mesoamerican situations, statements, allusions, and history.

"Describes and displays many aspects of the civilization that arose in southern Mexico and northern Central America (Mesoamerica) thousands of years ago" in order to "help readers envision the lives of the people in the Book of Mormon"--jacket.

As the ancient prophet Mormon edited the scriptural texts that would become the Book of Mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical features that comprised the setting for the events described in that book. Mormon's Map is Book of Mormon scholar John Sorenson's reconstruction of that mental map solely from information gleaned from the text after years of intensive study. He describes his method; establishes the overall shape of Book of Mormon lands; sorts out details of topography, distance, direction, climate, and civilization; and treats issues of historical geography. The resultant map will facilitate analysis of geography-related issues in the Book of Mormon narrative and also be of help in evaluating theories about where in the real world the Nephite lands were located.

Is The Book of Mormon a Great American Novel? Avi Steinberg thinks so. In this quirky travelogue—part fan nonfiction, part personal quest—he follows the trail laid out in Joseph Smith’s book. From Jerusalem to the ruined Mayan cities of Central America to upstate New York and, finally, to Jackson County, Missouri—the spot Smith identified as the site of the Garden of Eden—Steinberg traces The Book’s unexpected path and grapples with Joseph Smith’s demons—and his own. Literate and funny, personal and provocative, the genre-bending The Lost Book of Mormon boldly explores our deeply human impulse to write books, and affirms the abiding power of story.

This is volume 14 (2015) of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture published by The Interpreter Foundation. It contains articles on a variety of topics including "Sustaining the Brethren," "Who Was Sherem," "Whoso Forbiddeth to Abstain from Meats," "Where in Cincinnati Was the Third Edition of the Book of Mormon Printed?" "Celestial Visits in the Scriptures, and a Plausible Mesoamerican Tradition," "Father is a Man: The Remarkable Mention of the name Abish in Alma 19:16 and Its Narrative Context," "A Redemptive Reading of Mark 5:25-34," "Restoring the Original Text of the Book of Mormon," "The Implications of Past-Tense Syntax in the Book of Mormon," "Reflections of Urim: Hebrew Poetry Sheds Light on the Directors-Interpreters Mystery," "John L. Sorenson's Complete Legacy: Reviewing Mormon's Codex," "Lehi the Smelter: New Light on Lehi's Profession," and "Place of Crushing: The Literary Function of Heshlon in Ether 13:25-31."