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Dear Gramps,

Where did Mormon and Moroni record the actual site—the Hill Cumorah—of the last major battle between the Lamanites and the Nephites? Is it in Mexico or New York State?

I had long believed that this gigantic version of “Custer’s Last Stand” took place in present-day Palmyra, New York. After reading a book by an unrecalled author that took him eight years in its writing, he reported that the last battle took place in The Land of Cumorah that is situated at the present location just north of Tampico, Mexico, near Ciudad Madero.

Further, he states that, after the battle, Moroni had traveled northwesterly into what is now Utah, dedicating temples in present-day St. George and other locales. Subsequent to these dedications, Moroni is reported to have eventually traveled eastward across our nation—visiting Indian tribes along the way—until he reached the hill situated near Palmyra—and there he buried the gold plates.

I have read of people finding uncountable arrowheads at the hill, but if the place of the last battle was in New York State, what of all the armor, the shields, and other warrior accouterments of Moroni’s time that may still exist in piecemeal remnants, but might be buried under levels of earth? Have there been any discoveries of those items?

I understand that the Prophet Joseph Smith had referred to this place as simply a hill in his testimonial preface to the Book of Mormon (”. . . stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood.”) and later named it Cumorah.

I’d appreciate anything you can elaborate on concerning this topic. Incidentally, you perform a great service for member and non-member alike with your “Ask Gramps” Q and A. Thanks for your tireless efforts in getting the curious and serious topics explained.

Greg

 

Answer

 

Dear Greg,

No identifiable geographical reference to the location of the hill Cumorah was made by either Mormon or Moroni. In fact, no identifiable location was ever designated by any of the Book of Mormon authors. Relative locations abound; i.e., the location of one site with respect to another site. For instance, Moroni (born about 310 A.D.) was told by Ammaron that when he would become 24 years old he should go to the hill Shim in the land of Antum and recover from the records there the plates of Nephi, on which he was to continue his record. He was told to leave the remainder of the plates where they were. In Mormon 2:17, for instance, we are told that the city of Jashon was near the land of Antum.

Fifty years later, (385 A.D.) Mormon made an agreement with his enemy that would allow him to gather his people for a last stand at the hill Cumorah. Mormon was commanded by the Lord

that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni. (Mormon 6:6)

Moroni later hid up the records entrusted to him–the Plates of Nephi–in a different location in the same hill.

No time line is given as to when Mormon took all the records that had been entrusted to him to the hill Cumorah, but it had to have been prior to the time that he gathered his people there for his last stand. When he speaks of all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, he is referring to a very large number of records. They were deposited in a room in the hill Cumorah that was visited on two occasions by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It was to this room that Joseph returned the plates after he had finished translating them. The following is taken from Brigham Young’s Journal of Discourses–

I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country. I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that will be as marvelous as anything can be. This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it just as well as we understand coming to this meeting, enjoying the day, and by and by we separate and go away, forgetting most of what is said, but remembering some things.(Journal of Discourses, 18:361 (May 6, 1877)

Now, as you mention in your question, Joseph Smith called the hill from which he obtained the plates, and to which he returned them, the Hill Cumorah. With all that the Prophet knew of Nephite history, and with his association of the last great Nephite prophet, Moroni, who was the last known guardian of the plates, it is unthinkable to me that he would have given the name Cumorah to some hill other than the one named Cumorah in the Book of Mormon. Additionally, since Joseph and Oliver saw all those voluminous records in the hill Cumorah they could only realize that it was the same hill as that spoken of by Mormon as the repository of the voluminous records that he took from the Hill Shim.

It would seem that the Hill Cumorah is the only Book of Mormon site whose location has been definitely identified.

There are two general schools of thought as to where the main civilization of the Nephites and Lamanites as located. One is in the Guatemala area of Central America, and the other is in the Great Lakes region. There is some evidence to support both locations. However, the location of no site other than the Hill Cumorah has been identified, and although there are very positive statements by Book of Mormon students with respect to the supposed location of the Nephite civilization, it is all conjecture.

 

Gramps

 

 

 

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