The M2C hoax - part 6 - cement

The cement hoax is one of my favorites.

from uncoveredhistory.com 

Everyone knows that Mesoamerica features impressive cities and structures made of stone and cement. I've visited many of them. Back in the day, many of these sites were completely open, with no guards or even fences. You could climb all over them, and I have.

Mayan culture is fascinating, and we're learning more and more about it all the time. My kudos to all the Mesoamerican archaeologists and linguists who are helping us understand that culture.

But it has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon.

The M2C intellectuals want people to believe that two brief references in the Book of Mormon describe the massive Mayan stone-and-cement structures throughout Mesoamerica.

Naturally, the Mayans built with stone and cement. In a jungle, wood structures don't last long.

Which explains how we know the Nephites did not live in a jungle.

The Nephites built with wood and cement, not stone and cement.

One of my favorite articles from Book of Mormon Central explains the M2C cement hoax. I commented on it here:

http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2017/10/only-known-nephite-cement-is-in-new.html

I discussed the cement issue more generally here:

http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/11/cement.html

Here are the posts so you don't have to click through to read them.
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Only known Nephite cement is in New York, not Mesoamerica

I'm getting questions about cement, so I'll repeat what I've said about one of my favorite "Kno-Whys" of all time.

The Temple of the Inscriptions, built hundreds of years after Book of Mormon times--
Mesomania in all its glory

You can see it here: https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/when-did-cement-become-common-in-ancient-america

I blogged about it before: http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/11/cement.html. I have a few more comments below, but first, let's talk about the only known instance of Nephite cement.
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The only known Nephite cement was the cement that Moroni used when he built the stone box for the plates, as described by Joseph and Oliver.

Unless by now the Mesomaniacs have talked themselves into disbelieving what Joseph and Oliver said about the box, even they have to admit that Moroni used Nephite cement in New York. There is no other instance of Nephite cement that we can identify with 100% confidence.

"The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement." Joseph Smith-History 1:52.

Oliver Cowdery (who, according to Book of Mormon Central, was an ignorant speculator so you won't find this in any of their no-wise) described the situation on the Hill Cumorah this way:

"First, a hole of sufficient depth, (how deep I know not) was dug. At the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth. At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were placed, erect, four others, their bottom edges resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four last named, when placed erect, formed a box, the corners, or where the edges of the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that the inner surface of the four erect, or side stones was smoothe. This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph, or a sketch of each..."

http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/95

This was in New York, not Mesoamerica.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Moroni knew how to work with cement in New York; he and his father Mormon wrote the Book of Mormon while they lived in what is now New York. Moroni told Joseph that the record was "written and deposited not far from" his home.

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The fun part about this no-wise is how the Book of Mormon never mentions the people building with stone (except one wall in Alma 48:8). They built with wood and with wood and cement.

Helaman 3:11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.

That's right. Wood. Cement.

Not stone.

And yet, all the evidence cited by the no-wise involves ancient Central Americans building with stone and cement.

This might seem like nitpicking, but it's an essential difference. If we're looking for the Book of Mormon culture described by the text, we're not looking for a culture that built with massive stones, engraved their history on stella, etc.

In fact, in a thousand years of history, exactly one engraved stone is even mentioned (Omni 1:20), and that was because its uniqueness made it so remarkable. And it wasn't even a Nephite or Lamanite who engraved it.

We're looking for a culture that built with earth and wood, primarily. They only used cement when they needed to let timber grow, because they preferred to build with timber. Only in one instance, Helaman 3, (again, so unusual it deserved special mention) with wood and cement.

IOW, the "cement" requirement describes ancient North American culture and excludes ancient Central American culture.

Of course the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs advocates cite "cement" as a "correspondence" between the Book of Mormon and Mesoamerica. I'd like to know of any human society that did not use a material that could be called "cement." It's another illusory correspondence, designed to support the rejection of what Joseph and Oliver taught about Cumorah in New York.
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You can see archaeological reconstructions of ancient wood and cement structures at museums in Ohio.

And they are houses, just as the Book of Mormon describes.

Naturally, we don't expect much, if any, Nephite cement to exist today. Even modern cement doesn't last a long time where there is freezing and thawing.

Notice that Moroni knew this when he buried his stone box into the hill Cumorah and kept the moisture from entering.

We all wish Joseph or Oliver had kept a sample of Moroni's cement. But at least they left us this detailed account of it.

Which, in any rational world, would be enough evidence to tell us where the Book of Mormon actually took place.

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Cement

I've commented about this before, but the issue keeps resurfacing.

Advocates of the Mesoamerican theory claim the text describes cities made with stone cement, but there are three references to cement in the BoM, and none of them mention cement in connection with stone. 

Helaman 3:7

7 And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell.

Helaman 3:11

11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.

Helaman 3:9

9 And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings.

The only mention of cement with stone is in Joseph Smith's testimony:

Testimony of JS-“Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.

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Joseph uses the term "cement" to describe how the stone box was constructed--in New York. Besides Joseph's own description (and the even more detailed description by Oliver Cowdery), there is abundant evidence of the North American Indians using cement. Some of the mounds were covered with cement, to the point that they were difficult for farmers to tear down. People used jackhammers to break up the cement. Even today, at Cahokia, archaeologists have recreated a portion of the ancient wall around the city to show what it looked like anciently. It consists of tall timbers, covered with cement.

Granted, much of Cahokia was built during the Mississipian period, which is after Book of Mormon time frames, but the manner of construction matches what the text actually says. 

One thing is for sure: In North America (north of the Rio Grande), we don't see cities made of stone and cement. We see construction with wood and cement. In Mesoamerica, by contrast, we see cities made of stone and cement, not wood and cement. True, Mayans built houses out of wood, and built wooden structures on top of their stone temples, but the primary construction method was stone and cement.

We see this in the logos of the various Mesoamerican advocacy groups, including Book of Mormon Central, BMAF, and the Ancient American Foundation:

The inspiration for the Mesoamerican advocacy groups was the Arnold Friberg painting of Christ visiting the Nephites, which featured the massive stone stepped pyramid with the long staircase up the front and the big temple on top. This is some of the evidence of Mesomania. 

You know when an organization chooses a stone pyramid as their logo, they are focused on the Mesoamerican setting and not on the Book of Mormon text itself.

The scripture says they built houses of cement, and cities "both of wood and of cement." While there may have been Mesoamerican cities made of wood and cement, the ones cited in the 1842 Times and Seasons articles that started the Mesoamerican theory are all stone and cement (referring to Teotihuacan and the cities discovered by Stephens and Catherwood). Maybe the Book of Mormon says they built cities and pyramids out of stone and cement, but not in the version Joseph translated. 

Alma 38:8 says they built walls of stone around the cities, but look at the verse in context:

Alma 48:8

8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

They built banks of earth and also walls of stone--which is what the Hopewell in North America did, including the mounds Joseph described as Nephite. 

It's important to remember that they only built with cement because the lacked enough timber. This was a one-time exception. In the entire text, the only time they mention building with cement and wood was in Helaman 3.

Consequently, in my opinion these cement references in the text exclude Mesoamerica as a potential location described by the text.

The M2C hoax - part 5 - M2C or bust

Although this series explains how M2C is a hoax, I don't want readers to get the wrong impression.

There's nothing wrong with people believing a hoax if it works for them. There are lots of members of the Church who believe the M2C hoax and feel it increases their faith. That's fine with me. I'm not addressing them.

Millions of dollars are being raised from members of the Church to promote M2C. Employees of Book of Mormon Central are being paid right now to promote M2C aggressively in social media. That's all fine with me. Go ahead and donate to M2C if you want.

What's not fine with me is the way these groups censor the teachings of the prophets and tell people who discover those teachings on their own that the prophets are wrong. That, IMO, is a misguided, short-sighted and ultimately disastrous effort.

There are a lot of Church members--and the vast majority of the world's population--who don't believe M2C. 

Because M2C has managed to establish itself as the default position of the Church (portrayed in the visitors centers, media, art, curriculum, etc.), members and investigators who see M2C as a hoax are confused.

They deserve to know there are alternatives to M2C.
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In my view, the teachings of the prophets about the Hill Cumorah in New York are consistent with the text of the Book of Mormon and with known archaeology, anthropology, etc.

I think members of the Church deserve to hear all the facts so they can make informed decisions. 

In most cases, once they hear all the facts, members of the Church recognize M2C for the hoax it is. But not in all cases. And, as I said, that's fine with me.

BYU mythology map of the
Book of Mormon

Our own Articles of Faith let us believe whatever we want, and the Gospel Topics Essay on Book of Mormon Geography emphasizes that freedom.

But we cannot make informed decisions when the M2C citation cartel controls the narrative and insists on censorship.

The youth of the Church cannot make informed decisions when they are taught through CES and BYU that the Book of Mormon took place in a computer-generated fantasy map instead of the real world.
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So far, I've focused on Church history to show how M2C is a hoax.

That's not persuasive to M2C intellectuals and their followers, however. With one exception, the M2C intellectuals don't think accounts in Church history have any relevance to Book of Mormon geography.

They recognize that Joseph and his contemporaries all believed and taught that the Hill Cumorah was in New York, but they reject these teachings because they think the prophets were ignorant speculators who misled the Church.

Their explanation is that the accounts in Church history, such as Letter VII and Lucy Mack Smith's history, as well as the General Conference addresses by Presidents Ivins and Romney of the First Presidency, should be used "with caution." This is a euphemism for saying we should not believe these accounts.

The Church historians who wrote the book Saints agree with the M2C intellectuals. They deliberately falsified Church history to erase Cumorah from the record.

Ironically, what they want us to believe instead of the explicit, consistent and persistent teachings of the prophets about the Hill Cumorah are a handful of anonymous articles published in the Times and Seasons in 1842. These articles claimed that ruins discovered in Central America were evidence of the Book of Mormon.

Here is the key point that most LDS people still don't understand.

None of those articles said anything about the Hill Cumorah. 

Whoever was responsible for those articles did not claim the ruins in Central America impacted the New York Cumorah in any way. In fact, Letter VII was published in the Times and Seasons itself in 1841 by Joseph's brother Don Carlos at Joseph's request.

D&C 128:20, which references Cumorah in connection with Moroni and the founding events of the Restoration, was originally published in the same issue of the Times and Seasons that contained one of the anonymous articles about Central America.

And in 1844, Joseph's brother William published Letter VII in the Church newspaper in New York City titled The Prophet. This was in June, just two days after the martyrdom.

Since then, every prophet/apostle who has ever publicly addressed the topic has reaffirmed the New York Cumorah.
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Why do the M2C intellectuals claim that these anonymous articles demonstrate that Joseph changed his mind about the New York Cumorah?

Because of their own interpretation of the text of the Book of Mormon!
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The M2C intellectuals claim they rely on "the text" of the Book of Mormon and on "correspondences" between the text and archaeological discoveries in Mesoamerica.

In my view, this is a hoax because they are not relying on the text. They are relying on their interpretation of the text, which they developed to fit Mesoamerica. It's pure circular reasoning, driven by anonymous articles published in the Times and Seasons in 1842.

In coming days, we'll take another look at these correspondences.

The M2C hoax - part 5 - Illusory truth

Censorship and the academic cycle partly explain how and why the RLDS theory of M2C has become pervasive among LDS people.

Now we have fine young scholars (employees of the M2C citation cartel) using social media to promote M2C among their peers. We have the M2C citation cartel spending millions of dollars every year promoting M2C.

And yet, the whole thing is a hoax.

We are observing, in real time, an effect called "illusory truth."

Wikipedia has a good definition here. The illusory truth effect (also known as the validity effect, truth effect or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe information to be correct after repeated exposure...  familiarity can overpower rationality and repetitively hearing that a certain fact is wrong can affect the hearer's beliefs.

M2C not only contradicts the teachings of the prophets and apostles, but it persuades faithful members of the Church to disbelieve those prophets and apostles by repetitively teaching that they are wrong about the fact that Cumorah is in New York. It's a fascinating psychological study.
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Long-time readers know that M2C is based on what I call "illusory correspondences" between Mesoamerican history/culture and the M2C interpretation of the Book of Mormon. These illusory correspondences take the form of this logic:

Mayans were farmers
Nephites were farmers
therefore Nephites were Mayans.

If you read John Sorenson's Mormon's Codex or any of the publications by the M2C citation cartel, you see the same logic applied.

Mayans had large stone pyramids
Nephites built towers
therefore Nephite towers were large stone pyramids

Mayans experienced volcanic eruptions
Nephites experienced earthquakes, darkness, whirlwinds, etc.
therefore Nephites lived in a volcanic area

You see how this goes.

It's all a hoax because anyone can read the text and see the Nephites never once mentioned building with stone and cement. They never mentioned pyramids or anything remotely resembling such structures. They never mentioned volcanoes. And so it goes.

These logical fallacies and circular-reasoning interpretations of the text are transparently obvious to most of the world. Only those within the M2C bubble don't realize how they've been fooled by this hoax.

We wonder, how do people get inside the M2C bubble, and why do they stay inside there?
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There's a related concept labeled "cognitive ease."

Iconic M2C image

This term means we tend to accept as true and good any information that is familiar. Here's a reader-friendly discussion of it: http://farthertogo.com/what-is-cognitive-ease-and-why-should-you-be-wary-of-it/

This eight-minute video explains it well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cebFWOlx848

You can get people to believe almost anything--even M2C--if you repeat it often enough.
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This is my favorite graphic of the last week. It shows the symbol of M2C - the logo of Book of Mormon Central featuring a Mayan glyph - superimposed over the world.

The M2C citation cartel is raising and spending millions of dollars every year to persuade the world that the prophets and apostles are wrong about the New York Cumorah, and that the Nephites were Mayans.

They better also have a plan to impose censorship and illusory truth worldwide because otherwise, anyone with Internet access is going to learn what the prophets and apostles have actually taught, and how archaeology, anthropology and other sciences support the teachings of the prophets that they, the M2C citation cartel, have rejected.

The M2C hoax - part 4 - RLDS won

RLDS (CofC) HQ in Independence

Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) living today don't know anything about the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS).

But they should, because it was RLDS scholars who developed the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory (M2C). 

Maybe it is not a coincidence that the RLDS scholars published their book explaining M2C after the LDS Church began trying to purchase the Hill Cumorah in New York. But when we understand the nature of the rivalry, maybe that was intentional.

Either way, LDS scholars embraced the RLDS M2C theory over the objections of LDS leaders.

Today, thanks to the academic cycle, M2C is now being taught throughout the Church.

This means that RLDS scholars have prevailed over LDS leaders who objected to M2C.

In fact, M2C is the only Book of Mormon setting taught today in the Church, despite the official policy of "neutrality" expressed in the Gospel Topics Essay on Book of Mormon Geography. We see it in the visitors centers, the art and media, and in the CES and BYU curriculum. The Saints book deliberately changed Church history to accommodate M2C (discussed here: https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/).

We wonder, how did this happen?

More importantly, can the M2C hoax be exposed and rejected?

That's up for each member of the Church to decide individually.
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Today we're discussing Church history elements. We'll discuss non-historical elements of the M2C hoax in upcoming posts (i.e., archaeology, anthropology, etc.).
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For modern LDS members, it's difficult to put ourselves in the mindset of the LDS vs. RLDS competition from the 1800s, but it was a serious rivalry. It's important to understand the history to appreciate the origins of M2C and why it remains a hoax today.

Joseph Smith III

After Joseph Smith died in 1844, there was a power struggle for leadership. While most members followed Brigham Young (the President of the Quorum of the Twelve), others followed various alternatives. Emma Smith, for example, remained in Nauvoo and believed Joseph's son should succeed him as President of the Church. There's a good summary here:
https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1979/09/nineteenth-century-break-offs?lang=eng

In 1860, Joseph Smith III, son of Joseph and Emma, was ordained President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph F. Smith

Although both churches accepted the Book of Mormon and most of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, they had doctrinal differences and competing historical claims.

When Joseph F. Smith (son of Hyrum Smith) became President of the LDS Church in 1901, his cousin, Joseph Smith III (son of Joseph Smith, Jr.) was President of the RLDS Church.

Each claimed to be the rightful successor to Joseph Smith, Jr.

You can see how a serious rivalry would develop.

One of the issues the two groups differed on involved the Hill Cumorah.

In the late 1800s, an RLDS scholar named Elder H. A. Stebbins began teaching that the hill in New York where Joseph found the plates was not the Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6. You can read his teachings in the table below.

In 1899, Joseph F. Smith was the Editor of the Improvement Era. He had been an apostle and member of the First Presidency for 33 years. (Brigham Young ordained him an apostle and made him a counselor in the First Presidency in 1866 at the age of 27. Joseph F. Smith served as a counselor in the First Presidency to Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow before becoming President of the Church in 1901.)

In the July 1899 issue of the Improvement Era, President Joseph F. Smith published President Cowdery's Letter VII, which declares it is a fact that the Hill Cumorah in New York is the site of the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites, as well as the location of the depository of Nephite records (Mormon 6:6).

Here's the link to the cover page:
https://archive.org/stream/improvementera29unse#page/n0/mode/2up.

Here's the link to the page where Letter VII starts.

https://archive.org/stream/improvementera29unse#page/652/mode/2up

In the context of the rivalry between the LDS (President Joseph F. Smith) and the RLDS (President Joseph Smith III), the republication of Letter VII just when the RLDS scholars were beginning to teach M2C is significant.
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Joseph F. Smith was President of the Church from 1901 to 1918. In 1909, he sent Elder George Albert Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Lucy to Palmyra with the assignment of buying the Hill Cumorah and the Joseph Smith Sr. farm. (Geroge Albert Smith was named for his grandfather, a cousin of Joseph Smith Jr.)

Before leaving Salt Lake City, George and Lucy sewed $20,000 in cash into Lucy's skirt. When they arrived in Palmyra, they were able to buy the old Smith farm, but the owner of the Hill Cumorah, Pliny Sexton, refused to sell. Later, he offered to sell at an exorbitant price, but the Church declined to pay that much. Four years after Sexton died, the Church purchased the property in 1928.

In April 1928 General Conference, President Anthony W. Ivins spoke at length about the Hill Cumorah, re-affirming the teaching of Letter VII and D&C 128:20 that this is the very hill spoken of in Mormon 6:6. I've discussed that before here: http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2017/03/conference-classics-president-anthony-w.html

What makes this all the more interesting is the book published by RLDS scholars in 1924. Titled New Light on American Archaeology, the main author, L.E. Hills, quotes extensively from H.A. Stebbins, who Hills credited as the originator of M2C. [The text is in the table below.]
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Let's review the chronology. 

Late 1800s: RLDS Elder Stebbins begins teaching that the hill in New York is not the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

1899: LDS President Joseph F. Smith republishes Letter VII in the Improvement Era., reaffirming the long-accepted teaching that it is a fact that the hill in New York is in fact the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

1909: LDS President Joseph F. Smith sends Elder George Albert Smith to Palmyra to purchase the Hill Cumorah.

1924: RLDS Elder Hills publishes New Light on American Archaeology, declaring it is a fact that the Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6 is in Mexico.

1928: LDS Church President Heber J. Grant purchases the Hill Cumorah in New York and President Anthony W. Ivins reaffirms the fact that this is the Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

1938: Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, a 20-year member of the Quorum of the Twelve and Church Historian, writes an editorial in the Deseret News about M2C, stating "LOCALE OF CUMORAH, RAMAH, AND RIPLIANCUM. This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century [i.e., in western New York], but that in very deed such is the case."

1950s-1970s: LDS intellectuals write books and articles promoting M2C. President Joseph Fielding Smith, now President of the Quorum of the Twelve, re-publishes his 1938 editorial on Cumorah.

1975: In General Conference, President Marion G. Romney delivers an address titled "America's Destiny" that reaffirms the teaching that the hill in New York is the Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6.

1978: In General Conference, Elder Mark E. Petersen reaffirms the New York Cumorah.

1980s: LDS intellectuals, including David Palmer and John Sorenson, publish books promoting M2C. Jack Welch and others start FARMS, which strongly promotes M2C. The academic cycle begins teaching M2C to the youth of the Church.

1990: In response to questions arising about Cumorah, the entire First Presidency (Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson) personally approve a letter that declares "The Church has long maintained, as attested to by reference in the writings of General Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as referenced in the Book of Mormon."

1990s through 2018: LDS intellectuals create the M2C citation cartel that promotes M2C exclusively and censors alternative views. M2C is unambiguously depicted in LDS Church visitors centers, artwork, videos, and CES/BYU curriculum.

2019: Gospel Topics Essay on Book of Mormon Geography released. The first version quotes President Ivins 1929 General Conference talk explaining the Church has no position on Book of Mormon sites other than Cumorah. When it is pointed out that President Ivins also specifically reaffirmed the New York Cumorah in his 1928 General Conference talk, the Gospel Topics Essay is revised to omit the original quotation from President Ivins. The essay provides no references to teachings about the New York Cumorah for readers to consider.

Current Status: Church members are free to believe whatever they want. However, previous teachings by Church leaders about the New York Cumorah cannot be discussed in Church settings, especially not at Church history sites in Palmyra. Only books and organizations that promote M2C can obtain licenses from the Church to use the current official edition of the Book of Mormon. CES and BYU specifically teach M2C as part of the official curriculum.

IOW, the RLDS scholars have won. 

For now.
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In the table below, you can read what RLDS scholar Hills wrote to explain M2C. Anyone who has read the material published by the M2C citation cartel will recognize the arguments.

For readers who aren't as familiar with the arguments for M2C, here is a summary:

1. Cumorah cannot be in New York because New York is too far from Mesoamerica.

2. Joseph never said Cumorah was in New York. All historical evidence to the contrary is wrong because Lucy Mack Smith, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and others are unreliable witnesses.

3. Letter VII is false because Oliver never claimed a revelation to support Letter VII. His visits with Joseph and others to the Nephite depository of records in the Hill Cumorah were actually only visions of a hill in Mexico.

4. Joseph passively accepted the New York Cumorah tradition because he was an ignorant speculator who learned Book of Mormon geography not from Moroni, but from a popular travel book published in 1841.

5. Every LDS Church leader who affirmed the New York Cumorah was wrong. Every RLDS scholar who taught M2C was correct.
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Here is the text of Hills' book. Click on the links to see the actual documents.

New Light on American Archaeology by L. E. Hills
1924 Lambert Moon Printing Co. Independence, Mo.	M2C/Church history position
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058377359;view=1up;seq=135
p. 130. I will read an extract from an article which was printed in the Saints’ Herald under date of March 25, 1911. I shall be glad to have you recognize the importance of H. A. Stebbins’ article at this juncture. Notice this statement:
The map will have to be revised, as also our students will need to correct their ideas about the hills, and lands, and waters, as many of them are already doing, according to recent advices.	BYU/CES fantasy maps
Elder H. A. Stebbins has always been considered one of the best Book of Mormon students we have ever had in the church.	M2C intellectuals agree because they’ve adopted Stebbins’ views
He goes on to state the following:
To return especially to the location of the original hill Cumorah: We find no word by angels or by the voice of the Lord that the hill where Joseph found the plates was the historic hill.	M2C intellectuals agree because they reject Lucy Mack Smith’s account and Letter VII.
No revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants so designates it, and nowhere in his history did Joseph Smith write of it as Cumorah.	M2C intellectuals agree because they reject Letter VII and D&C 128:20.
In Times and Seasons volume 3, page 771, he says "stands a hill," and "this hill," and the angel told him to come to "that place" each year. At the final time he says that he went to "the place" where the plates were deposited.	M2C intellectuals agree (see discussion here: https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-hill-in-new-york-problem.html).
I am aware that Moroni wrote that he made his synopsis of the Jaredite history “from the twenty and four plates,” but at what time he did this I do not know. It may have been done before his father’s death, to be in preparation for the Lord’s purpose that such “account” of the Jaredites should be known in our time.	M2C intellectuals agree because they reject Letter VII.
At least Oliver Cowdery’s statement of the contents of the box, namely, that it contained a “sketch” of the two peoples seems to make it plain that Moroni did not place the original Jaredite record in the New York hill.	M2C intellectuals agree because they reject Letter VII (even though they accept anything Oliver wrote that confirms their M2C bias).
I have no objection to that hill being also called Cumorah, with the understanding that the ancient hill Cumorah is still undiscovered, and that sometime its secrets will be revealed and come to the knowledge of God's people.	M2C intellectuals agree; in fact, they’re still searching for Cumorah in Mexico.
The church used to have a little song, “O stop and tell me, red man,” and in it the Indian was made to say, “I once was pleasant Ephraim.” But long ago that idea was given up, and it is now held that those who accept the book, those into whose hands it has come, that they are Ephraim.	M2C intellectuals agree because they reject D&C 28, 30 and 32.
Thus errors are imbibed and liable to be, but when realized they need be held no longer.	M2C intellectuals agree.
For thirty-five years I held the error about Cumorah, until Earle Cothell, of Independence, took the blinds off, and then study made all plain to me.	M2C intellectuals agree because they think the LDS prophets and apostles were wrong.
But there have been so many controversies that I have hesitated for years about writing on this matter for publication, although urged to do so.
But now, because many are dissatisfied with the old theory, I present this article in the interest of truth, that error be removed and the truth be made plain.	M2C intellectuals agree
Therefore I need say no more on that point. But that the main bodies of both nations (the Jaredites and Nephites), remained south until their destruction came, is evident from the book itself.	M2C intellectuals agree
Hill: That is right. I am indeed pleased that Brother Stebbins sent this to me a short time before his death, with a letter stating that he believed that I was right, but that he had not had time to examine my position thoroughly. This is the article that he sent to me that he had held and kept concerning his own opinions about the land of many waters and the hill Cumorah.	M2C intellectuals agree
I want later to take up the question of where Moroni was when he made the abridgment of the Jaredite record, and also show that he never left Mexico until he had completed that abridgment and nearly all of his writings.	M2C intellectuals agree
Finally, after making the statement that he had finished his abridgment of the Jaredite records, and the Lamanites were killing all of the Nephites that would not deny Christ, and as he would not deny Christ, he said, “I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of my life.” Then it was that Moroni started northward, about 401 A.D., carrying the two abridgments with him, the one he made, and the one made by his father, “Mormon.”	M2C intellectuals agree
p. 133. We have a question before us that I consider one of the reasons that so many of our people have been led to look upon the northern part of the United States as the land of many waters. The isthmus, or narrow neck of land, and the land of many waters, are the keys to the geography of the Book of Mormon.	M2C intellectuals agree
I want to bring out the historical evidences so strong that everyone can see where the land of many waters is and what it is. When we have that problem solved, we have made quite a long stride towards understanding the geography of the Book of Mormon.	M2C intellectuals agree
The Book of Mormon 232:61, says, “They traveled in a land among many water” (or lakes). There are five direct references to this land of many waters in the Book of Mormon. This first reference refers to the forty-three men sent by Limhi to find the people of Zarahemla, and they were lost in the wilderness and did not find the people they were seeking, but they traveled in a land among many waters and returned again to the land of Lehi-Nephi.	M2C intellectuals agree
Book of Mormon 232:61: “And they were lost in the wilderness…
So these men in looking for the Nephites in Zarahemla, found the land of many waters, called by the Jaredites the valley of Gilgal (valley of Mexico). This valley was in the land of Desolation, which extended from the valley of Mexico down to the hill Shim by the narrow neck of land, or the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. One of the last battles that was fought by the Jaredites was when they fled southward until they came to the hill Ramah or hill Shim.	M2C intellectuals agree, albeit some have different ideas about where in Mesoamerica these things happened.
Another statement I hope you will keep in mind is in the Book of Mormon 488:30: Therefore, Morianton put it into their hearts that they should flee to the land which was northward, which was covered with large bodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward.	M2C intellectuals agree
This statement could not refer to the whole of the United States. It is a description of a particular land that was northward from the land of Zarahemla, and which was covered with large bodies of water.	M2C intellectuals agree
Right at this stage I want to read a description of the valley of Mexico. If our people who have studied Book of Mormon geography, in the past, to find the locations described, had run across this description of the valley of Mexico, they never would have decided that the “land of many waters” was the United States. [quotation from Native Races omitted]	M2C intellectuals agree
p. 137. A colony from the northwestern part of Zarahemla, or Guatemala in Central America, went into the land northward, Mexico, and when they reached the land that was covered with large bodies of water, they spread into all parts of the land. Notice that the valley is forty-two miles long, thirty miles wide, and one hundred sixty miles in circumference….	M2C intellectuals agree
The hill Cumorah was located in the land of many waters. After I began my map, I was asked by F. M. Sheehy where I located the hill Cumorah. I told him I did not know yet where it was located; but as I developed the map, I was compelled to locate it in the valley of Mexico. The Book of Mormon locates it there. You cannot get away from that fact.	M2C intellectuals agree
We will no read another description of this valley. It is a Jaredite account of a battle fought in a valley called Gilgal. The fighting was then resumed out on the plains of Heshlon. Book of Mormon 752:29…	M2C intellectuals agree
p. 148. Then comes the question: How about the plates found in New York State? Oliver Cowdery makes this statement: That the plates found in New York were a sketch of two peoples, Nephites and Jaredites, and we know from the study of the Book of Mormon that there were two abridgments on one set of plates; the abridgment made by Mormon of the Nephite history, and the abridgment made by Moroni of the Jaredite history. It is evident that Mormon left instructions for Moroni to make that abridgment of the Jaredite record on plates he (Mormon) had made. Can we find where Moroni was when he made the Jaredite abridgment and at what time he started northward carrying the two abridgments?	M2C intellectuals agree
Book of Mormon 760:1-3 Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account… for the safety of mine own life.
First: he had finished the Jaredite record. He was still hiding from the Lamanites. He goes on to state that some of the Nephites that would not deny the Christ, when captured by the Lamanite were put to death. After he had finished his work he buried the twenty-four plates in Mexico, and started, with the two abridgments, northward…	M2C intellectuals agree
p. 151. You will notice there is a wonderful promise contained there. I wish that we as a church could get right down and be humble and manifest the faith in this wonderful record that God wants us to, that he might give us more light and greater knowledge. We are getting more light and knowledge now; we are getting a clearer understanding of the location and geography and of the corresponding data from the Indian records and traditions.	M2C intellectuals agree
But oh, if we could only have those plates that are there in Mexico and they could be deciphered, then we might have a complete knowledge! It would also give us more knowledge of the Jaredites, greater knowledge of the coming of the Christ to this country, for we are told it will help us to know God better than we ever have known him in the past, and to understand the way to the Kingdom of God that in the end we may find our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.	M2C intellectuals agree