I’m not trying to make fun of the Mormon religion, but I do think it’s important to point out when people diss some of the wilder beliefs of religions like Islam (the whole 7 virgins thing, for instance) they should be reminded that plenty of mainstream religions are, well …. weird:
Iowa is known for its rich soil, and a group of Mormon researchers hope that same soil holds the secrets to a lost sacred city.
The Heartland Research Group thinks it may have found the site of Zarahemla—a notable city in the Book of Mormon—outside of Montrose, a small southeast Iowa town located on the banks of the Mississippi River.
John Lefgren of the Heartland Research Group said in his faith, Zarahemla would be comparable to Jerusalem for Christians. The exact location of Zarahemla has not been verified, so being able to pinpoint it would be a milestone.
“Iowa is an important place,” Lefgren said. “In the fourth century, Montrose, Iowa, had the largest city in North America.”
According to Lefgren, in its heyday of AD 320, Zarahemla had a population of about 100,000 and it was the largest city in the Americas.
“The Book of Mormon takes place at a time in ancient America; great civilizations and great armies are in the book,” Lefgren said. “The conclusion of the book, a nation, a great nation is destroyed. Mainly, it’s a cautionary tale, of course, because they did not keep God’s commandments and they do bad things and they are destroyed.”
The Book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon chronicles the destruction of Zarahemla and its eventual reconstruction. Zarahemla also was the namesake of a settlement founded by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, in 1839. Smith’s version of Zarahemla would later be incorporated into Montrose.
People can believe what they want. In a free society you must defend that. But privileging religion over everything else the way the far right judiciary in the US is in the process or doing, forcing taxpayers to subsidize these teachings, making it more important than scientific knowledge and understanding is maddening.