Real vs Rumor would have been an even better book had Erekson followed his own advice.
Lamentably, though, Erekson repeatedly violated his own guidelines and suggestions throughout the book, all apparently in an effort to promote SITH and M2C. Throughout his book, Erekson explains why it is important to analyze historical sources, but then he repeatedly omits the historical sources that are directly relevant to his topics in favor of modern commentaries--and even then he refers vaguely to books by certain authors without naming even one.
I reviewed his book in a series of posts that are being combined into a chapter in an upcoming book.
In one particularly outrageous section, Erekson directly, explicitly and intentionally misinforms his readers about me, by name:
Here's what he wrote (in blue), followed by my response (in red).
The “heartland” theory, for instance, begins with the assumption that the Book of Mormon promises of liberty and prosperity can really apply only to the United States (and certainly not (Mexico)--Lehi landed in Florida, the Nephites moved inland to Missouri and Iowa, and then the civilization ended in New York, all under the banner of the stars and stripes (which, incidentally, appears frequently in materials promoting the heartland theory).20 [Note 10. See works by Bruce H. Porter, Rod L. Meldrum, and Jonathan Neville.]
This long sentence requires a bit of unpacking because it fails the sniff tests on multiple levels.
First, it directly misrepresents the "Heartland" model, which begins with the assumption that Cumorah is in New York.
As with Erekson's previous vague notes, he cites three authors but none of their specific works, forcing the reader to guess to which works he is referring. To my knowledge, Bruce H. Porter's only "work" on Book of Mormon geography is the book Prophecies and Promises that he co-authored with Rod L. Meldrum, which was published in 2009.
That book was published long before I got involved with this topic, and I don't recall ever having quoted or cited it. I haven't read it in a long time, but I don't recall it beginning with the assumption Erekson claims it does; Erekson's portrayal looks more like it came from a review of the book by M2C advocates instead of an actual reading of the book. But I find it highly unlikely that the book claims the Nephites moved "under the banner of the stars and stripes."
At any rate, anyone who has actually read my work knows that I don't subscribe to the idea that the promises of liberty and prosperity apply only to the United States. I consider those promises universal and applicable to every nation and people that chooses to follow God’s commandments. The promised land for Germans is Germany; for Chileans is Chile; for Australians is Australia; for Ghanaians is Ghana, etc.
For Erekson to lump me in with a viewpoint that I don't subscribe to not only doesn't pass the sniff test, but he directly, explicitly and intentionally misinforms his readers.
Furthermore, my entire approach to the topic of Book of Mormon geography has focused on corroborating the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah. In doing so, I have relied on a variety of experts in various relevant fields. To frame me as distrusting "experts" is simply a lie.
That said, I don't defer to self-appointed "experts" on the Book of Mormon because I don't think expertise in Mayan civilization has any relevance whatsoever to the Book of Mormon.
Unbelievable.
And unprofessional.
_____
That excerpt is from part 4 of my review:
https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2022/05/real-vs-rumor-part-4-loyalty-to.html
The other parts are here:
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