New books focus on Book of Mormon geography

With the LDS Sunday School course of study shifting to the Book of Mormon, everything involved with that book is receiving extra attention. Here are two new books that have to do with the Book of Mormon's ancient setting:

SACRED SITES: Searching for Book of Mormon Lands, by Joseph L. Allen, Covenant, $29.95, 108 pp.

LAND OF PROMISE: IMAGES OF BOOK OF MORMON LANDS, by S. Michael Wilcox, Covenant, $29.95, 108 pp.

• Joseph Allen starts with a premise of the LDS faith: "The Book of Mormon is a real history. It speaks of real people. The events recorded within its pages happened somewhere."

But where? That's the question that he explores in "Sacred Sites." And as an answer, he pinpoints locations in Mesoamerica: South and Southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and part of Costa Rica. He bases this selection on four important criteria: language, archaeology, history and geography — all of which justify

"the idea that the heartland of Book of Mormon culture takes place in the area."

Were the Nephites and Lamanites the only people to occupy these areas? No, says Allen. "It would be a mistake to assume that the only people who ever lived in the Americas or who lived in Mesoamerica were all descendants of Lehi. The descendants of Jacob are not the only people who lived in the Middle East in ancient times, nor are the Mormons the only people who settled the West in modern times."

During the Book of Mormon period, other cultures such as the lowland and highland Maya, Olmec, Zapotec and Teotihuacan flourished in many of the same areas. And so while it is not feasible to point to all ruins and archaeological findings as belonging to the Book of Mormon, it is possible, says Allen, to find many ties and connections.

Allen, who has studied Mesoamerica for more than 40 years and has made more than 200 trips to the area as well as resided there for a number of years, presents a thoughtful, well-documented treatise. Maps, photographs and illustrations add to the interest.

The book brings to life the historical and geographical elements of the Book of Mormon. And, says Allen, he hopes it will show how these details "can lead us to Christ, which is the ultimate purpose of the Book of Mormon."

• S. Michael Wilcox is less concerned with pinpointing exact locations as he is with exploring insights gained from the area.