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Statements about Book of Mormon geography: Nineteenth century

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Statements about Book of Mormon geography: Nineteenth century

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made during Joseph Smith's lifetime: 1829-1840

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• Observer and Telegraph (Nov 1830): "the Aborigines of America; who, as they affirm, are a part of the tribe of Manasseh, and whose ancestors landed on the coast of Chile"
• W. W. Phelps: Ruins in Central America "good testimony in favor of the Book of Mormon"
• American Revivalist (2 Feb 1833): "The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians"
• Evening and the Morning Star (March 1833): "The continent of America is a choice land above all others"
• Evening and the Morning Star (Jun 1833): "NO people that have lived on this continent, since the flood, understood many of the arts and sciences, better that the Jaredites and Nephites"
• Evening and the Morning Star (Jun 1833): "Lehi was guided by the matchless power of God to this continent"
• Question: Does the story of Zelph have implications for Book of Mormon geography?
• Joseph Smith (4 Jun 1834): "wandering over the plains of the Nephites"
• Eli Gilbert (24 Sep 1834): "was not the book of Mormon also written by men who were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, on the continent of America?"
• W.W. Phelps (Feb 1835): "The first one is where you sat day after day and wrote the history of the second race that inhabited this continent"
• Oliver Cowdery (Jul 1835): "A history of the inhabitants who peopled this continent, previous to its being discovered to Europeans by Columbus"
• W.W. Phelps (Oct 1835): "the Indians, whose history and doings, upon this western continent, it unfolds as plainly"
• Joseph Smith (Nov 1835): "he said the indians were the literal descendants of Abraham"
• W.W. Phelps (Jan 1836): "The book of Mormon has made known who Israel is, upon this continent"
• William Smith (Jan 1837): "a remnant of the branches or seed of Joseph are represented as crossing the sea, and settling this continent of North and South America"
• Times and Seasons (Mar 1840): "The ancient events of America now stand revealed in the broad light of history, as far back, at least, as the first peopling of the continent after the flood"
• Joseph Smith (19 Jul 1840): "speaking of the Land of Zion, It consists of all North & South America"
• Parley P. Pratt (Aug 1840): "excavating in the neighbourhood of Bahia, in Brazil...bearing a strong architectural resemblance to the ruins existing in the northern parts of Norway, in Iceland, and in Greenland"
• Millennial Star (Sep 1840): "We learn these gentlemen will continue their journey, and after their visit to Palenque, will proceed to Mexico"
• Orson Pratt (1840): "they were marvellously brought across the great deep to the shores of North America"

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made during Joseph Smith's lifetime: 1841

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• Levi O. C. Nicklin (18 Jan 1841): "To prove the divinity of the book he assured us that a prophecy, and the description of certain cities in South America were accurately laid down"
• Parley P. Pratt (Feb 1841): "What heart can be so indifferent as not to wish to peruse the record of half a world?"
• Benjamin Winchester (1 Mar 1841): "The antiquities of America spread from the great lakes of the North and the West to Central America, and the Southern parts of Peru on the South"
• Walter Scott (1 May 1841): "Having already shown that the Book of Mormon describes the christian religion as being on the Western Continent..."
• Times and Seasons (15 Jun 1841): "We feel great pleasure in laying before our readers the following interesting account of the Antiquities of central America"
• Book of Mormon and the Mormonites (Jul 1841): "The history of the settlements of the emigrants in North and South America"
• Millennial Star (2 Jul 1841): "Canada on the north, Oregon on the West, Mexico on the south, together with all the tribes in central and South America"
• Times and Seasons (15 Jul 1841): "I have always thought that there had been a more enlightened people on this continent, than the present Indians"
• Chas. W. Wandell (27 Jul 1841): "in speaking of the writing found on the ruins of the stone city found in Mexico"
• Christian Advocate and Journal (29 Jul 1841): "This little band, after wandering long and far, came at last to America, and planted themselves in the western part of the present State of New York"
• Wilford Woodruff (13 Sep 1841): "a flood of testimony in proof of the book of mormon in the discovery & survey of the city Copan"
• Parley P. Pratt (15 Nov 1841): "with it their prophecies and their testimony of Jesus as the risen Messiah and the Saviour of the world, not of Asia only, but of America also"
• Times and Seasons (15 Nov 1841): "The bible was written by a people upon the Eastern continent, but the Book of Mormon by a people upon this continent"
• Joseph Smith (16 Nov 1841): "I received your kind present...of all histories that have been written pertaining to the antiquities of this country it is the most correct"

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made during Joseph Smith's lifetime: 1842

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• Book of Mormon Index (1842): "The discovery of America predicted"
• Times and Seasons (1 Jan 1842): "Near Newark in the county of Licking, Ohio, is situated one of the immense works or fortifications of the ancient nations of America"
• Times and Seasons (15 Jan 1842): "Christopher Columbus...the discovery of America—the land of Joseph—a land more blessed of the Lord than any other land"
• Joseph Smith, Wentworth letter (1 Mar 1842): "The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country"
• Parley P. Pratt (Mar 1842): "Mr Stephens...penetrated a dense forest, till then unexplored by modern travellers , and actually finds the ruins of those very cities mentioned by Mormon"
• Times and Seasons (2 May 1842): "The Book of Mormon gives an account of a number of the descendants of Israel coming to this continent"
• John E. Page (1 Jul 1842): "The city...was in some region on the South of what is called at this time, North America"
• Millennial Star (9 Jul 1842): "the American Indians were once an enlightened people and understood the arts and sciences, as the ruined cities and monuments lately discovered fully prove"
• Joseph Smith (15 Jul 1842): "Stephens and Catherwood's researches in Central America abundantly testify of this thing"
• Times and Seasons (15 Sep 1842): "these wonderful ruins of Palenque are among the mighty works of the Nephites"
• Times and Seasons (15 Sep 1842): "we read in the Book of Mormon that Jared and his brother came on to this continent...and covered the whole continent from sea to sea"
• Millennial Star (Sep 1842): "as the western continent is separate from the eastern"
• Times and Seasons (1 Oct 1842): "The city of Zarahemla, burnt at the crucifixion of the Savior, and rebuilt afterwards, stood upon this land"

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made during Joseph Smith's lifetime: 1843

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• A critic of the Book of Mormon (1843): "the ruins of Central America...the existence of such ruins were known long before the publication of the Book of Mormon"
• Missionary responds to critic (1843): "I contend that it is North and South America both that includes the promised land to the branches of Joseph"
• Orson Spencer (2 Jan 1843): "I only remark that Stevens’ Travels had some influence, as an external evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon"
• Times and Seasons (1 May 1843): "the wealth, architecture and splendor of ancient Mexico; when recent developments proved beyond a doubt, that there was ancient ruins in central America"
• Wilford Woodruff (27 Aug 1843): "the Book of Mormon...it gave a history of all those cities that have been of late discovered by Catherwood & Stephens, that it named those cities"
• Times and Seasons (1 Oct 1843): "a very interesting work entitled 'Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan,'...This is a work that ought to be in the hands of every Latter Day Saint"

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made during Joseph Smith's lifetime: 1844

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• LDS missionary tract (1844): "where has the seed of Joseph gone to?...There is no place except North and South America to which they could have gone"
• Times and Seasons (1 Jan 1844): "We have been informed by a gentleman who has traversed a large portion of the Indian country of Northern Texas...that there are vestiges of ancient cities and ruined castles or temples"

Nineteenth Century: Statements on Book of Mormon geography made after Joseph Smith's death: 1844-1899

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• Times and Seasons (15 Dec 1844): "As to the original inhabitants of the continent of America, the Book of Mormon, backs up the description of immense 'ruins' in central America"
• John Taylor (1 Apr 1845): "cities have been discovered by Mr. Stevens in Central America, exactly were the Book of Mormon left them"
• Parley P. Pratt (13 Mar 1852): "Four-fifths, or perhaps nine-tenths of the vast population of Peru, as well as of most other countries of Spanish America, are of the blood of Lehi"
• Brigham Young (15 Aug 1852): "it takes North and South America to make the land of Joseph"
• Orson Pratt (15 Feb 1871): "they landed on the south-west coast of South America"
• Brigham Young, Jr. (25 Mar 1883): "The leaders of the Church have in view the 5,000,000 of Lamanites located in Mexico"
• George Q. Cannon (1 Jan 1890): "For these reasons we have strong objections to the introduction of maps and their circulation among our people which profess to give the location of the Nephite cities and settlements"
• James E. Talmage (1899): "The hill, which was known by one division of the ancient peoples as Cumorah, by another as Ramah, is situated near Palmyra in the State of New York"

To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here