The Book of Mormon Archeology Foundation (BMAF.org) has a handy short list of major flaws with the recent "Heartland Model" for Book of Mormon geography. While most LDS scholars who grapple with details of Book of Mormon geography see Mesoamerica as the most likely or only reasonably candidate for the ancient New World setting of the Book of Mormon, several people have loudly touted an alternative model in which a portion of our present-day United States was where the Nephites dwelt. In that model, some of the Great Lakes represent the seas referred to in the Book of Mormon, and the great cities and temples of the Nephites and Lamanites are to be found in ancient mounds of dirt created by ancient Native Americans. While there are extensive resources at BMAF.org, the Maxwell Institute, and FAIRLDS.org that can be used to refute the Heartland Model, sometimes it's nice to boil numerous complex issues down to a dew bullet points. Here's a handy list from BMAF.org:


WHY THE GREAT LAKES/HEARTLAND MODEL DOES NOT QUALIFY
(1) no major river running South to North, Mississippi River flows North to South.
(2) no mountainous strip of wilderness that can hide Gadianton robbers, defend against Lamanites and serve as military dividing line for Captain Moroni (Alma 22:33-34,50:11).
(3) very little gold and silver east of the Mississippi.
(4) no evidence of cement buildings anywhere in eastern U.S. or Canada, archaeologists have determined that the vast majority of discovered archaeological sites dating to the time period of the Book of Mormon are located in Mesoamerica.
(5) no evidence that Adena and Hopewell co-existed for 250 years. We make a grave mistake in trying to piece together the historical puzzle of the Book of Mormon if we ignore the traditional history of Mesoamerica.
(6) Adena and Hopewell were not true civilizations, but were small, loosely knit, family related units with no evidence of a written language. The area in and around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec constituted the embryo for both the calendar system and the written language of the Americas. This fact alone virtually eliminates any other geographical area from being considered as “lands of the Book of Mormon."
(7) So-called DNA "Proofs" use unsubstantiated theories.
(8)  Joseph Smith did not receive revelation where Book of Mormon lands were located, but his last statements about Book of Mormon geography point us to Mesoamerica  (click here to see what Joseph Smith said about Mesoamerica).
(9)  Columbus was directed to "the promised land," yet he never visited North America.

For more information click here and browse through the articles in section 11 "The Heartland Model."

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