Overview

An Alternative Hypothysis Book of Mormon record keepers drew upon the natural world thousands of times to enrich their speaking and writing. Their references to beasts, fruit, seashore, stones, trees, vineyards, and wilderness (to name only a few) provide amazing insights into how, and where, those record keepers lived. A near consensus among Latter-Day Saint scholars is that Mesoamerica is the land where they Book of Mormon took place. This book tests an alternative hypothesis--that Lehi landed in a Mediterranean (dry desert rather than jungle) eco-region of the Americas, and that the Book of Mormon record keepers- from Nephi to Moroni- lived in such a region. Crookston evaluates 107 ecology-related words in their spiritual and temporal contexts, examining what each word suggests about where the writers lived. The consistency of the results is remarkable. Across almost 3,000 years of history (Book of Ether included), and 2,065 verses written by at least 24 separate authors, when there is a better fit, the text always supports the Mediterranean eco-region as the location for the Book of Mormon. This constitutes a unique and fascinating validation of the authenticity of the text.

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9781951496104

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Reading Kent's book, I was often surprised and fascinated as I began seeing familiar verses through the eyes of a biologist. I felt like I was on a field trip through Book of Mormon lands. His training and experiences helped me understand the implications of many words and verses I had never noticed or appreciated before. - Monte F. Shelly, WordCruncher Director, Office of Digital Humanities, Brigham Young University Kent Crookston has produced the first significant study of the ecological background and setting of the Book of Mormon worlds. This is the best quality work on the Book of Mormon since Hugh Nibley and must become required reading for any serious student of that text. It will displace virtually all previous attempts to establish the location of the Book of Mormon peoples in the Americas. - C. Wilfred Griggs, Emeritus professor of Ancient Studies, Brigham Young University Professor Crookston's display of evidence is almost exhaustingly detailed, thanks to thorough research and analysis; yet the scientist-professor is refreshingly aware of the tentative nature of developing hypotheses--those of others, and even his own. The book's combination of evidence and inference is refreshingly convincing. Maybe this is a new and well documented identification of the land of the Nephites and Jaredites? - Don E. Norton, Retired professor/editor, Department of Linguistics, Brigham Young University

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