Shulem Cracks Book of Mormon Geography

[Shulem]

As I interact with folks like Philo and others I can see the danger in taking absolutist/dogmatic/fundamentalist positions on anything having to do with religion, and Mormonism in particular. And then sticking to it until hell freezes over. Except for the fundamentals of course.

Philo, Philo, are you still there?



Okay, so here we are, TOGETHER, we share our thoughts and aspirations, etc.

MG, thank you for showing me your card, the volcanic card. Live long and prosper, my friend.

I will address this soon enough. Allow me to collect my thoughts. You should know that Joseph Smith had ideas and thoughts about volcanos and the ancient formation of lands prior to when he dictated the Book of Mormon.

Dr. Shades, pour yourself a drink and relax, for Christ's sake.

[Marcus]

The more I engage with folks such as you the more I come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief. I suppose I can do that because I have never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker to the extent that I couldn’t be flexible and thoughtful about my faith. Faith is much bigger than black and white answers and dogmatic positions.

So... you've never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker, but you've come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief.

.... I can see the danger in taking absolutist/dogmatic/fundamentalist positions on anything having to do with religion, and Mormonism in particular. And then sticking to it until hell freezes over. Except for the fundamentals of course.

so... you see the danger of fundamentalist positions, but you've come to believe in the truth of taking a fundamentalist position about fundamentals.

That's pretty revealing, overall.

It's interesting that you have stated your disagreement with Shulem's position, but you have not yet been able to articulate what your position is, except of course that you agree with the LDS church.

[MG 2.0]

You should know that Joseph Smith had ideas and thoughts about volcanos and the ancient formation of lands prior to when he dictated the Book of Mormon.

Try not to repeat yourself. To save time you might simply refer back to the older discussion where this has already been worked over.

No use beating a dead horse.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

So... you've never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker, but you've come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief.

Nope and yep. I figured you’d see a contradiction. There isn’t any. Give it some more thought.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

The more I engage with folks such as you the more I come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief. I suppose I can do that because I have never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker to the extent that I couldn’t be flexible and thoughtful about my faith. Faith is much bigger than black and white answers and dogmatic positions.

So... you've never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker, but you've come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief.

.... I can see the danger in taking absolutist/dogmatic/fundamentalist positions on anything having to do with religion, and Mormonism in particular. And then sticking to it until hell freezes over. Except for the fundamentals of course.

so... you see the danger of fundamentalist positions, but you've come to believe in the truth of taking a fundamentalist position about fundamentals.

If you’re still thinking about it, let me give you a pointed clue. Pay special attention to the words “religion” and “Mormonism” and the context within which I have used those words.

And don’t put words in my mouth. You already have.

Regards,
MG

[Shulem]

You should know that Joseph Smith had ideas and thoughts about volcanos and the ancient formation of lands prior to when he dictated the Book of Mormon.

Try not to repeat yourself. To save time you might simply refer back to the older discussion where this has already been worked over.

No use beating a dead horse.

Regards,
MG

The Church repeats itself in every General Conference and tells us repeatedly to read the scriptures over and over -- don't stop reading. It's the same old message, time and time again, over and over.

They took my money and did whatever they wanted with it to the tune of 100 billion. Anyway, I don't deserve my money back. I blew it. I made a bad choice. I have nobody to blame but myself.

Volcanos? Which ones?

[Marcus]

So... you've never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker, but you've come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief.

Nope and yep. I figured you’d see a contradiction. There isn’t any. Give it some more thought.

feel free to explain your own thoughts about this contradiction. But, getting back to the topic, there are some outstanding questions about your comments. Here is the main one you have yet to answer:

...I have posted multiple excerpts showing Brandley's theory is not the same as Shulem's. You have posted nothing to support your position. Why are you continuing to argue they are the same?

Also,

You're the one bringing up this source, mentalgymnast. Since I don't think you read your randomly googled source OR this thread, i'll give you a start:

You will not find the Book of Mormon geography described anywhere more accurately than at Delmarva.

And from your source:

Brandley makes a startling and extremely unjustified comment, saying: “This small neck of land can only refer to the Isthmus of Panama, and the land northward in this verse is North America, and the land southward is South America.

Could you state your position about this topic?

[MG 2.0]

Try not to repeat yourself. To save time you might simply refer back to the older discussion where this has already been worked over.

No use beating a dead horse.

Regards,
MG

The Church repeats itself in every General Conference and tells us repeatedly to read the scriptures over and over -- don't stop reading. It's the same old message, time and time again, over and over.

They took my money and did whatever they wanted with it to the tune of 100 billion. Anyway, I don't deserve my money back. I blew it. I made a bad choice. I have nobody to blame but myself.

Volcanos? Which ones?

Rather than beating that dead horse I was talking about, let’s walk down memory lane:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=154675&p=2764099&hi ... c#p2764099

Regards,
MG

[Marcus]

So... you've never been a fundamentalist sort of thinker, but you've come to believe in the fundamentals of religious belief.
so... you see the danger of fundamentalist positions, but you've come to believe in the truth of taking a fundamentalist position about fundamentals.

If you’re still thinking about it, let me give you a pointed clue. Pay special attention to the words “religion” and “Mormonism” and the context within which I have used those words.

No thanks, your derailing of topics is well known around here. Let's stick with the subject at hand.

And I'm grateful to have had an audience on this board to express all these things. I think everyone can see that I'm not seeking notoriety or credit. You'll notice that my maps I've worked hard to make don't have my name on them but are freely presented as contributions to the cause. I'm not looking for any credit. I'm not looking for glory. I'm spreading the word here on this board because it feels like the right thing to do. Besides, I feel qualified to do this and am not hindered by lack of archeological evidences and those kinds of proofs that testimony bearing members of the church require. I'm in the driver's seat, baby! I got the wheel! And my engine is super charged.

I really am in the best position to reveal these things and I'm doing it right here on Discuss Mormonism, live in front of everyone, including MG. We are making history and having a good time time doing it. Pour yourself a drink....

[MG 2.0]

Could you state your position about this topic?

Honestly, I’m much more interested in what Shulem might have to say in regards to my primary questions asked recently than I am going on your wild goose chases.

Regards,
MG