Cumorah
Cumorah | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 682 feet (208 m)[1] |
Coordinates | 42°59′40″N 77°13′13″W / 42.9945075°N 77.2202583°W[1] |
Geography | |
Location | S of Palmyra, Ontario County, New York, U.S. |
Topo map | USGS Clifton Springs |
Cumorah (
In the text of the Book of Mormon, "Cumorah" is a hill located in a land of the same name, which is "a land of many waters, rivers and fountains".
Early Latter Day Saints assumed that the Cumorah in New York was the same Cumorah described in the Book of Mormon, based largely on a letter written by Oliver Cowdery (Letter VII), published in the July 1835 Messenger and Advocate[12] and reprinted several times at the direction of Joseph Smith.[13] In the early 20th century, scholars from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) began to speculate that there were two such hills and that final battle in the Book of Mormon took place on a hill in southern Mexico, Central America, or South America.[14] The LDS Church has no official position on the matter,[15] and while these hypotheses are not held by some leaders and members of the LDS Church,[16] they are firmly espoused by others.[17]
In the official account of Joseph Smith it is stated that Manchester, Ontario County, New York, is the location of the encounter with Angel Moroni.[18]
New York
The hill named Cumorah in
Smith visited the hill each year on September 22 between 1823 and 1827 and said he was instructed by a "holy messenger", whom Smith identified as the Angel Moroni.[19] Smith was finally allowed to take the record on September 22, 1827.[19] Eleven other men gave written testimony that they had also seen the plates and held them in their hands.[20]
The hill, which was unnamed prior to 1829, is situated a few miles from Smith's boyhood home on a farm that was then owned by a local farmer, Alonzo Sanders. This farm was 4 miles (6.4 km) south of
Since 1829, the Latter Day Saints have called the hill "Cumorah",[21] and local non-Mormons have called it "Mormon Hill"[3][4][5] or "Gold Bible Hill".[7] The hill has also been called "Inspiration Point".[3] The hill and surrounding land was purchased in the 1920s by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of church president Heber J. Grant. The transaction involved two separate purchases: the purchase of the "Inglis farm"; and the purchase of the "Sexton farm". The Inglis farm consisted of 96 acres (39 ha) on both sides of the Canandaigua–Palmyra road and encompassed one third of the western edge of the hill. The 187-acre (76 ha) Sexton farm was purchased from the heirs of Pliny T. Sexton, who owned the "Mormon Hill farm" encompassing the remainder of the hill.[4]
The Church has constructed a monument that is topped with a statue of the Angel Moroni on the top of the hill, and there is a visitor's interpretative center at the base of the hill.
On June 8, 2022, several shots were fired into the Hill Cumorah visitors center.[22][23] There were no injuries or fatalities, and investigators determined the shots were unintentional and came from target shooting on nearby farmland.[23]
Supposed location of the plates
The stone box, described by Joseph Smith as the location where the plates were found, has not been located on the hill. In a letter, Oliver Cowdery gives the location as "the west side of the hill, not far from the top".[24] Shortly after Smith announced he had the plates, some local residents unsuccessfully searched the hill for a freshly dug hole that could have contained the plates. They did note a significantly sized hole on the east side of the hill that had been dug years previously by treasure seekers.[25]
Book of Mormon
Part of a series on the |
Book of Mormon |
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Nephites
In the Book of Mormon, Cumorah is mentioned in six verses, five in chapter 6 and one in chapter 8 of a subpart of the book, which is also known as the
The leader of the Lamanites agreed, and all of the Nephites gathered together, including their women and children. Mormon wrote, "And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away [since the sign of the birth of Christ], we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of Cumorah."[28] Mormon then hid all of the records of his people in the hill, except for the plates that he was currently writing on, which he gave to his son Moroni.[29]
The Lamanites then attacked the Nephites, who were led by twenty-three men each with ten thousand men under their command.[30] Mormon recorded that all but 24 of the Nephites had been killed, "even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me", except for those who fled to the south or defected to the Lamanites.[31]
Mormon then records his mourning for his people and a last message to those who will read his record later, then again turns the unburied records over to his son Moroni. Moroni records, "after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed. And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people."[32]
Jaredites
This hill, known as "Cumorah" among the Nephites, was called "Ramah" (/ˈrɑːmɑː/)[33] by the Jaredites:
In the Book of Mormon, during the time of the Book of Alma, the land of Cumorah was part of the land of Desolation, "the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken". This land is identified as being north of the land of Zarahemla.[34]
Moroni lived several years after recording the destruction of his people. He translated and abridged the plates which were the record of the
Geography and historicity
For over 100 years, Mormons generally accepted the New York setting for the Hill Cumorah. Since the early-20th century, there has been discussion within the Latter Day Saint movement about whether Hill Cumorah in New York is the same place described in the Book of Mormon, or whether there are two hills of the same name—one in New York and one in either Southern Mexico, Central America, or South America.[14] Mormon archeologists overwhelmingly favor the "two Cumorahs" theory, while conservative theologians and some leaders prefer the view that only one Cumorah exists. Some non-Mormon scholars have provided alternative theories for the origin of the name Cumorah.
New York hill
At least ten different accounts refer to certain events that occurred at the hill Cumorah in New York.
There has been no on-site archaeological research at Cumorah in New York.
Cerro El Vigia
For a variety of reasons, some Mormon scholars have proposed the Cerro El Vigia (coordinates: 18°33′N 95°11′W / 18.550°N 95.183°W or 18°27′25″N 95°21′01″W / 18.45694°N 95.35028°W ) in Veracruz, Mexico, as the hill Cumorah in the Book of Mormon. John L. Sorenson has listed 15 cultural criteria for the hill Cumorah which are based on contextual clues from the text of the Book of Mormon: cities, towers, agriculture, metallurgy, formal political states, organized religion, idolatry, crafts, trade, writing, weaponry, astronomy, calendar systems, cement, and wheels. Sorensen alleges that the hill in New York at least partly fits four of these requirements while the Cerro El Vigia meets all of them.[40]
Alternative origin of the name
Alternate LDS archaeological view
Mormon authors have suggested that the ancestors of the Nephite people may have encountered the Comoros islands on their initial voyage from the Arabian Peninsula to the western hemisphere, and that the Nephite civilization therefore may have retained a collective knowledge of the names "Comoros" and "Moroni".[46]
A minority of LDS scholars, some of whom specialize in 19th-century American literature, place the original literary setting for the Book of Mormon among the mythic
Popular culture
Literary interpretation
Charles W. Dunn depicts Coriantumr's last battle in his book The Master's Other Sheep: An Epic of America and Other Poems. In an analysis of Dunn's poem, professor of English Edward Whitley highlights the significance that the Hill Ramah is portrayed as being the same as the Hill Cumorah, where the Nephites are also destroyed. He explores the hill's role in the Book of Mormon's destruction of purported ancient American peoples, namely the Nephites and the Jaredites, and how that is portrayed in literature.[48]
Pageant
The 283-acre (1.15 km2) site near
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this final performance was initially rescheduled for mid-2021[55] and later canceled entirely,[56] bringing the tradition to an end.
Notes
- ^ a b "Hill Cumorah". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- IPA-ified from «ka-mōr´a»
- ^ a b c d A. P. Kesler, "Mormon Hill", Young Woman's Journal, 9:73 (February 1898).
- ^ ISBN 1-56085-133-3) pp. 243–50.
- ^ a b Andrew Jenson, Conference Report (April 1917) p. 99.
- ^ "A Looked-for Exposure: Secrets of the Original Mormon Bible", The New York Times, 1888-02-26.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55517-723-2) pp. 58–60.
- ^ "Hill Cumorah (New York)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b Mormon 6:4
- ^ Mormon 6:6. The plates that Mormon buried were the plates he had abridged into what he called the "Book of Mormon". This smaller set of plates were not buried by Mormon but were given to Mormon's son Moroni.
- ^ Mormon 6:11–15
- ^ "Address". contentdm.lib.byu.edu.
- ^ "History, 1834–1836, Page 79". www.josephsmithpapers.org.
- ^ a b
Roper, Matthew, "Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon: Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations", Saints Herald, vol. 69, no. 46, 1922, pp. 1074–76. See also the South American setting proposed by Priddis, Venice (LDS), The Book and the Map, 1975, ch. 11, "Mormon, Moroni and Cumorah", pp. 153–57.
- ^ [1], Correspondence from F. Michael Watson, 23 April 1993, cited with commentary in William J. Hamblin, "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2(1) (1993): 161–97, accessed 13 September 2009. See also Book of Mormon geography/Statements/First Presidency "First Presidency Letter" on the FAIR LDS Wiki.
- ^ On the subject of a Mesoamerican Cumorah, apostle Joseph Fielding Smith wrote in 1956:
Apostle Mark E. Petersen stated:It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, "by interpretation, is large or to exceed all." ... It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York ... for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes, and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 233–34).
Bruce R. McConkie wrote:I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates. (123rd Annual Conference of the LDS Church, April 4–6, 1953, Conference Report, pp. 83–84; Improvement Era, June 1953, p. 423).
Both the Nephite and the Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah (or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it), which hill is located between Palmyra and Manchester in the western part of the state of New York ... Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many early brethren, who were familiar with the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah. (Mormon Doctrine, s.v. "Cumorah", p. 175).
- ^ William J. Hamblin, "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2(1) (1993): 161–97.
- ^ The Pearl Of Great Price (PDF). Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints. 2013. p. 54.
- ^ a b c See "Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith", found inside the LDS Church editions of the Book of Mormon printed after since 1981.
- ^ Introduction, Book of Mormon, 1981 LDS Church edition
- History of Joseph Smith by His Mother Lucy Mack Smith, p. 100. Book of Mormon witness David Whitmer referred to the hill by name in an account of an incident in which he, Smith, and Oliver Cowdery were riding in a wagon to the Whitmer home in Fayette, New York. According to Whitmer, an aged and heavy set man walked alongside the wagon. The man had a knapsack strapped over his back with something square in it. When David invited the man to ride he replied: "I am going across to the hill Cumorah." Smith reportedly later told Whitmer that they had seen one of the Nephite prophets: Lyndon W. Cook ed. (1991). David Whitmer Interviews (Grandin Book) pp. 19, 27.
- ^ "NYSP: Fairport man charged after bullet hits Hill Cumorah complex". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ a b "Hill Cumorah tourists take cover after bullet hits complex". AP NEWS. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
- ^ "Oliver Cowdery (1806-1850) | Selected writings in Messenger and Advocate | Source: Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, 3 vols. (published 1834-1837). OLIVER COWDERY'S ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH". www.boap.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ Vogel, Dan. "The Locations of Joseph Smith's Early Treasure Quests" (PDF). Dialogue Journal. 27 (3). Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ Shook, Charles Augustus (December 6, 1910). "Cumorah revisited; or, "The book of Mormon" and the claims of the Mormons re-examined from the viewpoint of American archeology and ethnology". Cincinnati, The Standard publishing company – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Mormon 6:2
- ^ Mormon 6:4–5.
- ^ Mormon 6:6
- ^ Mormon 6:9–14.
- ^ Mormon 6:15
- ^ Mormon 8:2–3
- IPA-ified from «rä´mä»
- ^ Alma 22:30–32
- ^ Ether 9:3
- ^ Ether 15:11
- S2CID 193606120. Archived from the originalon 2006-12-07. Retrieved 2007-01-09..
- ^ Young, Brigham (June 17, 1877), "Trying to be Saints — Treasures of the Everlasting Hills — The Hill Cumorah — Obedience to True Principle the Key to Knowledge — All Enjoyment comes from God — Organization — Duties of Officers — Final Results", Journal of Discourses, vol. 19, pp. 36–44.
- ^ Tvedtnes, John A (1990). "Little Known Evidences of the Book of Mormon". FARMS Review of Books. 2 (1). Maxwell Institute: 258–59. Archived from the original on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2007-01-09.. Brenton G. Yorgason discusses his belief that it is geologically impossible for a cave to form within the existing hill. He suggests that the accounts given were a vision.
- ^ Taken from the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), The Land of the Nephites Archived 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine under the heading, "Book of Mormon Criteria."
- ProQuest 1530410447.
- ^ Palmer, Grant H. (2014). "Joseph Smith, Captain Kidd, Cumorah, and Moroni" (PDF). John Whitmer Historical Association Journal. 34 (1): 50–57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Brooke (1994, pp. 152–53); Quinn (1998, pp. 43–44, 54–57); Bushman (2005, pp. 45–53), Persuitte (2000, pp. 33–53), Newell & Avery (1994, pp. 17).
- ^ Capt. Kidd Mythology and Legend
- ^ "Question: Could Joseph Smith have acquired the names "Moroni" and "Cumorah" from stories he read as a youth, maps that he would have had access to, or other people within his local vicinity? - FAIR". www.fairlatterdaysaints.org.
- Lehi and his family may have re-supplied at Moroni during the voyage: W. Vincent Coon, Choice Above All Other Lands, pg. 68; see also "How Exaggerated Setting for the Book of Mormon Came to Pass" and "A Feasible Voyage". This position reflects the argument of others that the tradition that Lehi and his company voyaged across the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and finally the Pacific Ocean is "extreme" and non-authoritative: May, Wayne N., THIS LAND: They Came from the East, Vol. 3, pp. 12–15; Olive, P.C. Archived 2010-01-09 at the Wayback Machine, The Lost Empires & Vanished Races of Prehistoric America, p. 39.
- ^ Silverberg, Robert, "…and the mound builders vanished from the earth", American Heritage Magazine, June 1969.
- ISBN 978-0-19-022192-8.
- ^ "Hill Cumorah Pageant website". Archived from the original on 2006-11-25. Retrieved 2005-06-24.
- ^ Applebome, Peter, "A Mormon Spectacle, Way Off Broadway", The New York Times, 13 July 2011; retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ Gerald S. Argetsinger, "The Hill Cumorah Pageant: A Historical Perspecitive" Archived 2008-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13(1).
- ^ Stephenson, Kathy. "Manti's Mormon Miracle Pageant is now history. Here are five remembrances of the show's 52-year run.", The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 June 2019. Retrieved on 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Will next year's Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant be the last? Hill Cumorah show to end after 2020 as church steps away from large shows". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
- ^ Walch, Tad (December 5, 2018). "Church finalizes pageant decision: 4 to end, 3 to continue". Deseret News.
- LDS Church. 2020-04-30.
- ^ "Hill Cumorah Pageant won't return, LDS Church announces". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
Works cited
- Brooke, John L. (1994). The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-34545-6.
- ISBN 1-4000-4270-4.
- ISBN 0-252-06291-4.
- Persuitte, David (2000). Joseph Smith and the origins of the Book of Mormon. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0826-X.
- ISBN 1-56085-089-2.
External links
- Media related to Hill Cumorah at Wikimedia Commons
- Hill Cumorah Pageant - official site
- Sites from former cast members: Hill Cumorah.net and Hill Cumorah.info
- Encounters with Cumorah: A Selective, Personal Bibliography
- The Geologic History of Hill Cumorah
- History of the Church, Vol.1 Archived 2020-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Frederic G. Mather (1844–1925) "Early Days of Mormonism" Lippincott's Magazine 26:152 (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, Aug. 1880)