Synopsis

The North America Model for the Book of Mormon, a 127 page soft cover book, describes the geography of the Book of Mormon from Jerusalem to the hill Cumorah. It follows the families of Lehi, Mulek and Jared from the Mideast to the land of promise as well as describing the basic geography in the land of promise for all three migrations. It consists of a Five Part Base Model which delineates extents and configuration of the general area of habitation and how the major and minor lands mentioned in the Book of Mormon are related to each other generally.

Following the Base Model are 38 Appendices which address the various stories and events of the Book of Mormon and how they fit into the Base Model as a test and as a memorable visualization for the total narrative of the Book of Mormon, in many cases at localities that can be visited to within a distance of only a few miles and to some locations with detailed specificity.

Refer to the Table of Contents tab for the scope and level of detail provided by the manuscript.  With most all of the events and Book of Mormon stories described in detail, organized by the Books of the Book of Mormon, it enhances the study with specific locations in mind.  It also addresses the question, “Did Christ appear to the people of Mesoamerica?”  The answer to that question is found in 3 Nephi 16:1-3.

Maps

Refer to the Composite Map tab for the composite map of the lands of the Book of Mormon.   While the book and lecture provides the background on the genesis of and rationale for the Composite map, the following verbal description of The North America Model describes key elements of the model.

• The line of separation between the Nephites on the north (the land of Zarahemla) and the Lamanites on the south (the land of Nephi) is the Ohio River (the river Sidon) following the narrow strip of wilderness that starts with a "straight course" (Alma 50:7-8) extending from the east sea (the Atlantic Ocean/Chesapeake Bay/Potomac River sea estuary) west to the river Sidon (the Ohio River), with the river Sidon eventually flowing into the west sea, the Gulf of Mexico.  The lower Mississippi is the natural extension of the Ohio River with the upper Mississippi tributary to the combined Ohio/Lower Mississippi (Sidon) river system.
  
• The Appalachian Mountain range extending from Georgia on the south to New York on the north includes the borders (mountains) of the Lamanites, the land of Ishmael, the land of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the south wilderness in the land of Nephi, and the east wilderness and the land of Manti in the north in the land of Zarahemla.  It is also the location where the Gadianton Robbers lived in the north. 
• The major cities of Zarahemla, Bountiful and Lehi-Nephi are located in Ohio, New York and North Carolina respectively.  The city of Zarahemla is located at Chillicothe, Ohio, the center of the great Hopewell Culture empire (also known as the Mound Builders) which extended throughout the Midwest and which existed according the Ohio History Central website and the National Park service from the 1000/200 B.C. to the 400-500 A.D time frame and which disappeared without a known cause. 
• South Mountains in North Carolina is the location of mount Antipas, 25 miles from the waters of Mormon (Linville Falls) located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, both located near the city of Lehi-Nephi, i.e. near Morganton NC.
• The city and valley of Gideon with the hill Amnihu east of Sidon are located in West Virginia on the Ohio River at Point Pleasant WV at the confluence with the Kanawha River (Alma 2:20 & Alma 16:6-7). Another east/west river Sidon crossing with the hill Riplah east of Sidon is located at Parkersburg WV (Alma 43-44).  The Kanawha/New River valley is the valley of Gideon and extends 300+/- miles from the middle of the Great Appalachian Valley in the southern Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia (in the land of Nephi) north to the Ohio River and the land of Zarahemla at Point Pleasant in a virtually level (average 0.1%) grade through the wilderness and mountains of West Virginia, and is one of the paths of travel that connected the lands of Nephi (in the south) and Zarahemla (in the north) in the west.  The Great Appalachian Valley, which extends along the I-81 corridor, from Tennessee to Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley, is the path that connected the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla east of the land of Manti.  Those two trails together are known historically as "The Great Indian Warpath".     A third trail north through Kentucky to a river Sidon crossing at Portsmouth OH connects to an ancient Indian trail in Ohio of about 45 miles length to Chillicothe OH (the city of Zarahemla).  The name of the trail in Kentucky is "The Warriors' Path in Kentucky", and the name of the trail along the Scioto river north to the location of the city of Zarahemla in The North America Model has been called "The Path of the Armed Warriors", a path that is consistent with Helaman 1:14-19.  
  
• And, of course, the hill Cumorah and the hill Ramah, which are one and the same, is located 80+ miles from the narrow neck/small neck of land separating the east sea (Lake Ontario) from the west sea (Lake Erie) that leads to the land to the north, Desolation, which land is surrounded by seas on the north, south, east and west in southern Ontario.
• Also indicated on the Composite map are the lands of Jershon, Antionum, Shilom, Shemlon, Amulon, Melek, Middoni, Helam, Moroni, etc., as well as many cities like Ammonihah, Nephihah, Lehi, Morianton, Judea, Antiparah, Zeezrom, Mulek, etc.     

Status of the Book -
(Both the paperback book and eBook are available for online) - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+north+america+model+william+midgley&ref=nb_sb_noss

In the meantime, a 5" x 7" bookmark has been printed that includes the full color Composite Map of the lands of the Book of Mormon with photos of Book of Mormon features on one side and a list of requirements for Book of Mormon lands with scripture references on the back.  Refer to instructions for purchasing them herein under the Store tab. Also availaible is a 16"x20" poster of the painting of king Benjamin's address to the people from the tower.

Disclaimer

Neither The North America Model for the Book of Mormon, From Jerusalem to Cumorah, nor this website, has been endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nor by any of its General Authorities.  Nor has it been developed in association with any established Latter-day Saint apologetics group(s) individual(s), or foundation(s), private or in association with academic resources of the Church other than has been mentioned as source information in the book and included as links herein.

 10/18/18