Meridian Magazine :: Answers to Critics: What is the Source of the Names Cumorah and Moroni?

What is the Source of the Names Cumorah and Moroni?
From FAIR, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research

Comoros is a small nation made up of three islands off the southeast coast of Africa. Its capital city is Moroni. In an attempt to prove that Joseph Smith (or other contemporaries) wrote the Book of Mormon as a work of fiction, some critics have claimed that the names Cumorah and Moroni were copied from a map of the Comoros islands.

This claim, like many efforts to explain away the Book of Mormon, commits the logical fallacy of the Appeal to Probability. This fallacy argues that because something is even remotely possible, it must be true.

Pointing out a possible relationship like Comoros = Cumorah and Moroni = Moroni is not sufficient. When the facts are examined, even the possibility of Joseph seeing Comoros and Moroni recedes; the idea becomes absurd. Major gazetteers from Joseph’s era were consulted. There is no mention of Comoros or Moroni in them.

Could Joseph have seen an Obscure Map with the Name Moroni on it?

It is unlikely that any source would have contained the name of "Moroni." That settlement did not become the capital city of Comoros until 1876 (32 years after Joseph's death and 47 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon), when Sultan Sa'id Ali settled there. Prior to this, it was only a small settlement.

Conclusion

Advocacy of the Comoros/Moroni link seems an act of desperation. It has not been proved that Joseph saw the names, or that any source available to him linked them. Furthermore, latching on to two names in an obscure reference work, even if one could be found, does nothing to explain the incredible complexity and internal consistency of the Book of Mormon.

Trivia

In an episode of the TV game show Jeopardy, host Alex Trebek gave the answer, "Pronounced one way, it is the capitol of the Comoros Islands; pronounced another way, it is the name of the angel that appeared to Joseph Smith." (The correct question, of course, was "What is Moroni?")

For a full examination of gazetteers and maps see the FAIR wiki article here.

If you have any topic or question you would like to see addressed pleased contact Carolyn Wright at http://www.fairlds.org/contact.php. Just check the box for the Meridian Article Editor.

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