Moroni's America

by Jonathan Neville

"Where did the Book of Mormon take place?" Millions of people have asked that question, both believers and nonbelievers. Just in time for the 2016 Gospel Doctrine course of study—the Book of Mormon—comes Moroni's America, the book that offers a new answer to the universal question. The Book of Mormon took place right here in America—not the Americas—the United States of America. The answer surprises many people, in ways almost too self-evident—yet it fits the scriptures, the geology, the geography, time frames and archaeology. What's more, it is 100% consistent with everything Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery said on the topic. Moroni's America arrives in a day when there are dozens of theories about Book of Mormon geography, all unsatisfactory for one reason or another. Theories range from Chile to Canada and everywhere in between. (Some have even claimed that the setting is in Malaysia or Eritrea or nowhere at all.) Most readers are familiar with the theory of a Mesoamerican setting, but that concept was based on a mistake in Church history (see The Lost City of Zarahemla). Worse, the Mesoamerican setting requires that the Hill Cumorah—where the Nephites and the Jaredites fought to their destruction—be in Mesoamerica, not New York. Yet Oliver Cowdery said the New York setting was a fact (see Letter VII: Oliver Cowdery's Message to the World about the Hill Cumorah), and Joseph Smith endorsed Oliver's claim. Joseph also called Ohio, Indiana and Illinois the plains of the Nephites. It's time for the Mesoamerican theory to be discarded. The Book of Mormon belongs where it actually took place—in Moroni's America. This book offers faith-promoting answers to the question every reader has asked: "Where did all this happen?"

Genres: Religion

384 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2015

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was absolutely mesmerized by this book! I’ve always thought the Mesoamerican theory of the location of the Book of Mormon seemed far-fetched. I had no idea there was so much evidence of a people just like the Book of Mormon people in the United States of America. I have copied tons of notes from this book into my electronic scriptures, and I have planned a trip to go and visit the Hopewell Indian sites. Great research by the author!

I only gave the book four stars because the writing is not really professional and could have stood quite a bit more proofreading before publication, but I also realize that self-published authors sometimes don’t have access to this. In addition, the graphics on the maps is indistinct. I see that Mr. Neville has made some really great maps that you can buy separately, but I wish they had been included in the book. The information in the book is well worth overlooking these minor inadequacies. I love the format, as it goes through the Book of Mormon from beginning to end, citing evidences for an Eastern United States location.

10/10 would recommend for all students of the Book of Mormon!

[Ellen Asay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartland scholarship

This book shows many reasons to accept a Heartland view of Book of Mormon geography. The author clearly accepts Joseph Smith’s literal translation of the plates and his continuing prophetic calling. It brings the account of Zelph to life, reminding one of the visionary description of Zelph’s life and death.
The role of the great American rivers is emphasized, and it reminded me of my recent reading about the Civil war battles of Tennessee and Virginia. The “wilderness” and the hundreds of miles traveled by foot, and by boat, and horse.
The idea of Mesoamerica as a hinterland and a place where the other “other sheep” were visited has been a thought of mine which I had not seen in print, and to which I concur. Stan Brimley writing on Ellen’s Amazon

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heartland Model of the Book of Mormon allows me to visualize the entire narrative of this book of scripture. I live in an area where much of the BoM took place. There has been a burial site nearby that held the bones of giants buried in a circle. Both the Nephite/Lamanites and the Jaredites' lived in the Midwest not Central America.
Neville has a very convincing way to bring the facts to life.

[Paul Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Neville's detailed explanation of why he thinks the primary settings for the Book of Mormon were in the Midwest of the United States - Iowa, Illinois, Tennesee, etc. I disagree with some of his reasoning, but it is a refreshing alternative to Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon. I don't think that this North American setting resonates with *all* the information given in the Book of Mormon. For instance, I wonder about winter. It gets *cold* in Iowa, Illinois, and New York. "Capt." Moroni talks about fatigue and hunger being trials for the Nephite armies, but not once does he mention freezing temperatures, snow, or even use the word "cold". Also, several times the text tells of armies crossing the river Sidon. Those rivers seem too big to wade across. (Maybe they swam or had ferry rafts?) On the other hand, the Midwest setting makes sense on many points that the Mesoamerican settings don't.

One of the fascinating thing that I didn't know is that there are (or were?) hundreds or thousands of sophisticated ancient sites in the Midwest and Eastern United States. We've all seen pictures of Machu Pichu and other stone temples, but little or nothing of North American mound builders. The descriptions of existing mounds *do* sound like the ones that Moroni tells of. I'd like to visit some.

I appreciate that Neville is respectful to those he disagrees with and is humble about his own conclusions. This is what I thought his "Lost City of Zarahemla" would be.

[Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. "Moroni's America", by Jonathan Neville is a compilation of the research he has done on the Heartland Theory as the setting for the Book of Mormon. It is well researched and clearly written. I would highly recommend this book as part of your expanded study of the Book of Mormon.

[Emily S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry, but I appreciated the book by book/verse by verse approach to explaining the geography along with the proposed maps. The end of the book became even drier and a little repetitive.