A group of people head back to the land of nephi, to check up on the people they left behind. Could this have been the ancient city of zarahemla. Zarahemla, city of true book of mormon geography lands. Why did alma ask church members fifty probing questions. This work specifically tries to answer who first introduced the idea that the setting of the book of mormon was in southern mexico, guatemala, and the surrounding. The river sidon is the main river mentioned in the book of mormon. The land of nephi is always up and the land of zarahemla is always down. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. The annotated edition of the book of mormon aebom appeals to the geographical footnotes added by orson pratt in the 1879 edition of the book of mormon as evidence for the heartland model. Ammon led a quest in search of a colony that had left the land of zarahemla in order to resettle a city named lehinephi.
According to the beliefs of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, zarahemla refers to a large city in the ancient americas which is described in the book of mormon. Zarahemla is the name of a region and a city mentioned in the book of mormon. From iowa to guatemala and back again 9781515337997. The assumption that zarahemla, iowa is in the same location as the city of zarahemla of the book of mormon doctrine and covenants 125.
The author of the lost city of zarahemla maintains the heartland model is correct, and this book is one of several written by attorney jonathan neville, dealing with this topic. The saints did what they would often doname places they lived after places mentioned in the bible and the book of mormon. The book of mormon manti is a land and city situated in the southern highlands of nephite territory, near the head of the river sidon. The book of mormon also mentions a king named zarahemla. Thirteen journeys between the cities of nephi and zarahemla. Did you know that heartland mormons are planning on.
From the title, i would have expected much more detail about how cities and other points line up or supporting ruins found. I have a large library of religious books, but the annotated edition of the book of mormon is the most technicolored, highfidelity, highdefinition, highlyresearched, testimonybuilding, multidimensional rollercoaster ride through the religious history. It is certainly a good thing for the excellency and veracity, of the divine authenticity of the book of mormon, that the ruins of zarahemla have been found where the nephites. Wayne may gives evidence of the great city of zarahemla in modern day iowa across the mississippi from the nauvoo temple. It is, however, par for the course for the mormon community in the area and at large to attempt to usurp any native structures in and around the tristate area of illinois, iowa, and missouri as holding religious significance to the book of mormon. King benjamin in montrose iowa 124 bc let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of nauvoo, and let the name of zarahemla be named upon it.
Membership is open to anyone interested in book of mormon research. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon. We believe that there are good reasons to look on the west bank of the mississippi in lee county, iowa. The name zarahemla is used some 150 times in the book of mormon, overwhelmingly in regard to a geographical location. The intent of this revelation seems to have been to encourage obedience to josephs instructions, whether about the name of towns or the locations for settlement. Zarahemla in iowa is zarahemla across the river from nauvoo, il. I am attacking the inaccuracy of his work and claims about the location of the book of mormon land of promise and more specifically, the location of the nephite city of zarahemla being in iowa. Zarahemla, city of true book of mormon geography lands western new york model zarahemla, capital city west of the river sidon which ran through the land of zarahemla.
Zarahemla is captured by lamanites, retaken by moronihah 1, hel. Learn about the strategic importance of this location on the mississippi river to the. Zarahemla was the name of the major nephite city as recorded in the book of mormonpart of the official canon of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. However, the ancient prophet mormon tells us that the city of zarahemla of the nephites was located much further from the sidon river, which was to the. In the book of mormon, the river sidon near zarahemla could be crossed on foot by troops during battle alma 2.
The geographic size of the city and land of zarahemla depends on the time period being discussed in the book of mormon. The city of zarahemla, burnt at the crucifixion of the savior, and rebuilt afterwards, stood upon this land as will be seen from the following words in the book of alma. They lived in a city named zarahemla, in the land of zarahemla see omni 1. Similarly, the editors of the aebom repeat the claim that zarahemla is.
Was zarahemla in iowa and other errors with the heartland. We would especially like to find the location of zarahemla knowing its coordinates, we can explore things like its relationship to neighboring communities, nearby cemeteries, etc. Weve added zarahemla to our gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. Largey was assistant professor of ancient scripture at brigham young university when this was published.
Zarahemla would not have been burned if people had repented, 3 ne. Zarahemla true book of mormon geography lands western. Why was the city of ammonihah destroyed and left desolate. The reasons come from a reading of the book of mormon as it relates to the movements of those ancient people as well as from the. Was it revealed to joseph smith that the book of mormon. Zarahemla, capital city of a land that is choice above all other. The excavation at the purported site of the zarahemla temple, which i first wrote about here, has apparently already taken place. In the october 1986 general conference, president ezra taft benson said. Lessons from the zarahemla churches book of mormon central. Less likely is hypothetical hebrew zeroemla arm of mercy, an english phrase used three times in the book of mormon, including once by jesus at 3 nephi 9. The mississippi river is identified as the river sidon, and the springs of northern georgia just. Zarahemla, iowa territory place the joseph smith papers. The purpose of many of these journeys was to seek safety in another part of the land. Wayne may true book of mormon geography lands western.
Nephi 2 returns to zarahemla and sees wickedness, hel. Higher to lower elevation map wayne may, book of mormon geography presentation, ancient american history conference, slc, april 1, 2011 rivers flow from higher elevations to lower elevations. Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of nauvoo, and let the name of zarahemla be named upon it. If your read the prophecies and and promises in the book of mormon there is only one. Over 23 of the book is given to proving that a benjamin winchester was probably the author of the editorial in times and seasons linking the book of mormon with south america, not joseph smith, and b benjamin winchester apostatized and fought the leaders of the. The lord was merely using a name for the area which had already come into use by the saints, no doubt naming it after the book of mormon zarahemla. Why did alma need to establish the order of the church in zarahemla again. The latterday saints gave many of their settlements book of mormon names.
The foundation is not associated with any specific religious organization. Despite this fact, one proponent of this claim tells us elsewhere that american bison wont swim across a body of water if they cant clearly see the other side. The nowdefunct webpage for the project proclaimed that a professional. There is no compelling reason to associate the iowa settlement with ancient zarahemla. The location of historical zarahemla has been the focus of extensive archaeological and historical research. However, very early in church history documents, the name zarahemla was disassociated with the revelation. The ancient city of zarahemla is near montrose, iowa.
Located on the northern portion of the land southward. Departure from zarahemla recolonization of the land of. This city was situated on the west bank of the sidon river, and was originally built by the descendants of the people of mulek, who left jerusalem, b. Exploring the book of mormon in americas heartland. A journey through the mythic lands of nephi, zarahemla, and kansas city, missouri, by avi steinberg. Zarahemla research foundation is a nonprofit, taxdeductible organization dedicated to book of mormon research. By focusing on 7,000 acres in lee county, iowa, as the likely location for the lost city of zarahemla, the research will be confined to less than onethousandth of a percent of the total area found within the geography of the ancient people in the book of mormon. Notable book of mormon descendents of the leader zarahemla include ammon the venturer and coriantumr the dissenter. The capital of the nephite nation, from about 200 years b. By far, zarahemla is the most frequently mentioned place name in the book of mormon.
A dictionary of the book of mormonzarahemla, city of. Generally, in the book of mormon, zarahemla is considered a placethe capital city of the nephite nation. If you can help us with zarahemla, please contact us. According to the book of mormon, the land of zarahemla popularly attributed to biblical hebrew. These accounts and their indications are not speculation based, but historically documented. For example, in utah are such cities as nephi, moroni, manti, and bountiful.
The term comes from the book of mormon account of the people who came to america from jerusalem at the time zedekiah was carried captive into babylon. With the river sidon identified, we can go on to identify the location of the city and land of zarahemla we may surmise that because the lamanites and robbers occupied the western seashore, the mulekites would have avoided them and ventured inland, no doubt following the buffalo river as they went there is a nice piece of land between the buffalo river and its middle fork cazenovia creek. Book of mormon evidence in american archaeology wayne may. The land of zarahemla was the nephite capital for many years. This book examines the times and seasons articles from 1842 that placed zarahemla in guatemala and reveals who the actual author was and the conspiracy behind it publication. Thus, the site called zarahemla had been given the name long before the revelation. However, there was also a man named zarahemlaa descendent of mulek, the lone surviving son of king zedekiah of judah. Zarahemla under monarchial rule the book of mormon online. This chart lists the twelve recorded journeys between the cities of nephi and zarahemla, as well as other pertinent information, such as the dates, purposes, and leaders of the expeditions.
They were called the people of zarahemla after the name of their leader. Zarahemla was the name of the major nephite city as recorded in the book of mormonpart of the official canon of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints the city of zarahemla and surrounding area were not originally nephite. The lord, in march of 1841, revealed to the prophet joseph smith that a city. The saints did what they would often doname places the y lived after places mentioned in the bible and the book of mormon. Rod meldrum, a big proponent of zarahemla, iowa, and the nauvoo area of illinois being the site of the book of mormon zarahemla along the mississippi river which he claims was the river sidon. His claim is erroneous, does not meet scriptural references and. The lamanites under zarahemnah also crossed the river sidon near manti, located to the south of zarahemla alma 43. We must make the book of mormon a center focus of our study because it was written for our day. Spent the forenoon of this day on the iowa side of the river. There is a great deal of talk about the geography of the book of mormon. One of the first settlements named in this way by the saints was zarahemla, at nashville, lee county, iowa. Around 323 bc a nephite man named mosiah found the already built city. We first learned of the name zarahemla in the book of mormon. It also assesses the impact of this new information on book of mormon studies.
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