Well. In a collaborative effort no one is going to have all the answers, and some will bring more insight than others. The key is that all the bits of information that are good add to the puzzle in order to create the bigger picture. It’s all good and fine to argue over what the picture will look like eventually, but we shouldn’t let that detract from someone seeing a puzzle piece and sayin, “You know, I think we’ve been looking at it the wrong way, and if you turn it 90 degrees it’ll fit in nicely right over there.” For example, your bit about Captain Kidd and buried treasure is genius. It absolutely fits in with Joseph Smith’s use of the Susquehanna river and the Book of Mormon mental map he had created. It’s another piece of the puzzle that makes sense when you’re trying to figure out his mindset and what sources he was using to synthesize a narrative.Shulem wrote: ↑Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:00 pm
Vogel has demonstrated to me that his understanding of Book of Mormon geography through Smith's eyes is quite shallow and he has been traditionally brainwashed by the system as so many have. That is the end result of Mormonism! Sure, he is good at source documents and has a wide grasp of history but in the case of geography in Smith's novel as it relates to the real world, Vogel is in fantasy land.
And then there is John Hamer the mapmaker. The problem with him is that he can't read a map, certainly not in the Book of Mormon. He's in twilight zone.
So, here we are. Isn't this fun? Putting people down. Not what I planned. But sometimes one has to do it in order to put the chips and cards out on the table. So here I sit.
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- Doc