This was a great discussion. I really loved the direction it went, and the knowledge Rodney L. Meldrum brought to the table. It started with Rodney sharing his conversion as a young man then went into a discussion about Book of Mormon DNA presented by the mother of a young man in his ward.
First, here is a link to the video:
The video goes all over the place. But there were a few segments I really liked.
#1 – Peer Reviewed. What is the origin or a peer reviewed study? I like that they called out academia here. The same group think that is destroying parts of our country. Science is not 100% definitively set in stone on many subjects. Yet, academia and even politics (the money and funding) force conformity on many fronts. I also believe the Book of Mormon will be proven correct in every aspect as time moves forward. Science and discoveries will lead to the evidence.
I don’t have all the facts on the story I am going to share because the original source, my grandmother, has passed away. My grandmother Venice Priddis wrote a book on her prediction of where the Book of Mormon lands were. The book was called, “The Book and the Map.” My father who has also passed, drew the illustrations in the book. Her theory was that the Book of Mormon lands were located down in Peru and South America.
There are a few things I remember. I remember grandma and grandma talking about their travels to Peru and other parts of South American to do research for the book. She was incredibly proud of the book. I remember that she and her book were not fully accepted. I asked my mother about it to see if she had any information on what happened. She told me that my grandmother had been scheduled to lecture on her book at BYU. A few days prior to the scheduled lecture the church made a formal announcement that there should not be speculation on the Book of Mormon geography. Shortly after the public statement her lecture was canceled. Prior to this my grandmother had been given some pretty harsh criticism, one for being a woman, and two for not conforming to mainstream theories.
Here is a brief review by John L Sorenson where he highlights on page 143 the lack of conformity:
– Use of Past Book of Mormon Scholarship: Practically none.
– Use of Current External Scholarship: Slight.
The book is no longer in print, but used copies are available here and there.
Any who knew Venice knew she was a saint. People don’t come much better or much more faithful than my grandmother. I don’t need to defend her or right a wrong. My purpose for discussing this is to back up that all theories are not accepted, and that academia isn’t always on your side. I’m sure these Stick of Joseph guys are also getting their fair share of criticism.
As far as the church goes, I’m not sure if critics from and the academic community at BYU lead to the church’s public statement about Book of Mormon geography. I don’t believe my grandmother was directly targeted. It simply could have been a period of increased curiosity that the church was trying to get in front of. In general, I know the church has not been favorable to guessing where these events took place. Maybe in part because people can go to the extreme.
#2 – The Mesoamerica theory of the Book of Mormon lands. There were a few really good points in here.
NOTE: I get that this all centers on DNA evidence. If the DNA evidence is not in Mesoamerica, it either never existed or they assimilated so completely into the society the key DNA markers were watered down and or lost in the population. How could they have assimilated like this if the Book of Mormon speaks nothing of them coming across and existing population. Why would the Mayans just let them take over upon arrival and become the kings and rulers over the land? It couldn’t have been so. They would have had to have landed in an unpopulated area.
I have not done my own personal research into Book of Mormon DNA, but the theory that makes sense to me is the heartland theory, that the Book of Mormon lands were in North America. That they were the ancestors of some American Indian tribes. It is the theory that makes the most sense to me. I could be wrong, but I consider the following:
- The gospel was restored in North America
- They first preached the Book of Mormon to the North America Indians.
- The story of Zelph
- That the United States is chosen above all others
- That the restoration took place in the North America
- The Golden plates were located in the North America
- Adam-ondi-ahman is located in North America
- The New Jerusalem is to be built in North America
- So many of the prophecies seem to correlate with the United States and North America, not another country or continent.