Every serious student of the Book of Mormon has wondered whether the hill Cumorah where Joseph Smith received the gold plates and the hill Cumorah spoken of in Mormon 6 are the same hill. Although the geography of the Book of Mormon is not important to our eternal salvation, this question is so compelling that it must be dealt with. Among scholars, two schools of thought have developed:
"The friendly controversy still goes on, the one camp holding that the only Cumorah in or out of the Book of Mormon is the traditional one in New York State, the other supporting the view that the Cumorah in New York has been named after the one in Middle America, but is not the one around which the last great battles of the Nephites and the Lamanites took place.
“Now which of these two points of view is correct? It would be desirable, if possible, to come to a unity in the matter. Truth should never be on the defensive, but sometimes it is hard to decide just where it is. Perhaps most people of the Church hold to the traditional view of Cumorah, and, indeed, I have defended that view in some of my writings. But in recent years we have again gone over the Book of Mormon evidence very carefully and are prepared to present what we feel are the elements of the strongest case that can be made for a Cumorah in Middle America.” (FARMS: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, Spring-1995, pp. 261-2)
The cumulative evidence from the Book of Mormon itself, argues overwhelmingly for another hill Cumorah located somewhere in Central America. However, the student should be aware that President Joseph Fielding Smith adamantly declared that the final battle took place in western New York (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:232-243). How can anyone dare to question such a conclusion? We can only dare to question if we appeal to a higher source—the Book of Mormon itself.
The reader is referred to the FARMS article cited above for a more complete discussion of the subject, but one rather compelling bit of evidence comes from Ether 9. In that chapter, we learn that the Jaredite civilization was near the hill Cumorah (v. 3). Later, we learn of Jaredite flocks which fled from poisonous serpents. In their flight, some of them made it all the way into the land southward (Ether 9:30-34). Are we to believe that these miraculous poisonous serpents chased these equally miraculous herds over 3000 miles from today’s New York to South America? The story is incredible enough if they chased them only a hundred miles.
More evidence comes from Mormon 4:1-2. In this passage, the revenge-minded Nephites began an offensive in the land southward but were driven back. The geography described in Alma 22:31-33 places these battles just south of the narrow neck of land. For 14 of the next 22 years, the Nephites were driven back in a northern direction. Are we to believe that in these 22 years (8 of which were peaceful, see Mormon 4:15-16), the entire Nephite civilization was driven over 3000 miles? You would think that Mormon would of told us of such a huge mass migration. But he didn’t.
More examples could be given, but suffice it to say that the Book of Mormon, with its myriad of seemingly unimportant tidbits, paints the best picture. The text itself, as usual, becomes it’s own best evidence—providing the most clear proof that the land of Cumorah spoken of is in modern-day Central America.
Nevertheless, the counsel from President Lee gives us needed spiritual perspective on the subject.
Harold B. Lee
"Don’t be concerned over Book of Mormon geography. Some say the Hill Cumorah was in southern Mexico (and someone pushed it down still farther) and not in western New York. Well, if the Lord wanted us to know where it was or where Zarahemla was, He’d have given us latitude and longitude, don’t you think? And why bother our heads trying to discover with archaeological certainty the geographical locations of the cities of the Book of Mormon like Zarahemla?
“The witness of the Book of Mormon is not found in the ruins of Central and South America. They may be outward evidences of a people long since disappeared. The real witness is that which is found in the Book of Mormon itself.” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p. 156)