Two recent attempts by anti-Mormons to dismiss the Nahom connection show just how incoherent and inconsistent they are. The good folk at MormonThink claimed to have found a map of the ancient near east bearing the name Nahom, that existed in the library of a town easily accessible to Joseph Smith. A volunteer at FAIRMormon checked it out and found that the MormonThink town was actually over 300-miles from where Joseph had lived and most certainly had never visited. They had mistakenly, or otherwise, Googled for towns with the same name and come up with one that was near Joseph, but this was not the town where the map was alleged to have been. Another theory was presented at Sunstone, which Jeff Lindsay at the blog Mormanity investigated. The theory claims that any imposter would have come up with a place name containing the letters NHM, as they are among the most common letters used in place names. They then came up with a raft of obscure places scattered throughout the globe that contained these letters, including a restaurant in Vietnam. It was a truly farcical theory which Jeff makes light work of.
marjorie simardApril 8, 2014
I knew dear Hugh Nibley, and I too wondered what he would have said about these findings.
Richard L. HallidayApril 8, 2014
As a child my goal was to become an archaeologist who specialized in Mesoamerican or Egyptian archaeology. Instead I became an aerospace engineer. However, these subjects have remained of life-long interest. I find these discoveries to be exciting, thrilling and deeply satisfying. I wonder what Hugh Nibley would have to say?
KathrynApril 7, 2014
This is very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing it.
Cheryl McManusApril 4, 2014
Interesting.
john NicholsonApril 4, 2014
My wife and I visited this site in about 1982, and we were the only two westerners viewing the town of NHM - I suspect the only LDS in Yemen! We saw the ruins of the magnificent pre Solomon dam:We actually walked across the more recent dam which was of an earthen and stone construction. We were told that the ruins were of a much older construction!
We also saw outside of NHMm a cliff face riddled with holes: the information on this was that it was a burial site much older that the sites southwest west, and had also been for burial: the cliff face was used anciently to bury higher up than than floor of the valley in order to protect the burial place from the rushing flood flow following the spring rains
Our first stop was a at a bazaar or souq, and we wandered amongst the sellers. In one place we stopped at was an old lady selling cumin. Beside her were a set of weighing scales, but I saw no weights. After talking to her, I realized that the padlock lying on top of the cumin powder was her one and only weight measure. She would sell you one, or two, or three times the weight of the padlock! At that stage we were only tourists, and only much later, when we had reached home did we learn of the significance of the place!!!
I has talked about NHM, but I never got round to writing it up.
Terry Marett LuntApril 4, 2014
The find is so exciting! I am always interested in anything that has to do with the historical records that verify the Book of Mormon. I am a former seminary teacher and these proofs will be so important to that program. There is so much that sends doubt and criticzies and demeans the truth in our church. This is a joy to behold and helps to give more sure knowledge of the truth of the Church of Jesus Christ and that it has truly been established in the laterdays. Not that I needed it but how marvelous for those who question and criticize! May it be but the first of such evidence.
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Terry andersonApril 14, 2014
Two recent attempts by anti-Mormons to dismiss the Nahom connection show just how incoherent and inconsistent they are. The good folk at MormonThink claimed to have found a map of the ancient near east bearing the name Nahom, that existed in the library of a town easily accessible to Joseph Smith. A volunteer at FAIRMormon checked it out and found that the MormonThink town was actually over 300-miles from where Joseph had lived and most certainly had never visited. They had mistakenly, or otherwise, Googled for towns with the same name and come up with one that was near Joseph, but this was not the town where the map was alleged to have been. Another theory was presented at Sunstone, which Jeff Lindsay at the blog Mormanity investigated. The theory claims that any imposter would have come up with a place name containing the letters NHM, as they are among the most common letters used in place names. They then came up with a raft of obscure places scattered throughout the globe that contained these letters, including a restaurant in Vietnam. It was a truly farcical theory which Jeff makes light work of.
marjorie simardApril 8, 2014
I knew dear Hugh Nibley, and I too wondered what he would have said about these findings.
Richard L. HallidayApril 8, 2014
As a child my goal was to become an archaeologist who specialized in Mesoamerican or Egyptian archaeology. Instead I became an aerospace engineer. However, these subjects have remained of life-long interest. I find these discoveries to be exciting, thrilling and deeply satisfying. I wonder what Hugh Nibley would have to say?
KathrynApril 7, 2014
This is very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing it.
Cheryl McManusApril 4, 2014
Interesting.
john NicholsonApril 4, 2014
My wife and I visited this site in about 1982, and we were the only two westerners viewing the town of NHM - I suspect the only LDS in Yemen! We saw the ruins of the magnificent pre Solomon dam:We actually walked across the more recent dam which was of an earthen and stone construction. We were told that the ruins were of a much older construction! We also saw outside of NHMm a cliff face riddled with holes: the information on this was that it was a burial site much older that the sites southwest west, and had also been for burial: the cliff face was used anciently to bury higher up than than floor of the valley in order to protect the burial place from the rushing flood flow following the spring rains Our first stop was a at a bazaar or souq, and we wandered amongst the sellers. In one place we stopped at was an old lady selling cumin. Beside her were a set of weighing scales, but I saw no weights. After talking to her, I realized that the padlock lying on top of the cumin powder was her one and only weight measure. She would sell you one, or two, or three times the weight of the padlock! At that stage we were only tourists, and only much later, when we had reached home did we learn of the significance of the place!!! I has talked about NHM, but I never got round to writing it up.
Terry Marett LuntApril 4, 2014
The find is so exciting! I am always interested in anything that has to do with the historical records that verify the Book of Mormon. I am a former seminary teacher and these proofs will be so important to that program. There is so much that sends doubt and criticzies and demeans the truth in our church. This is a joy to behold and helps to give more sure knowledge of the truth of the Church of Jesus Christ and that it has truly been established in the laterdays. Not that I needed it but how marvelous for those who question and criticize! May it be but the first of such evidence.
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