How would Joseph have known about the Comoros Islands?

[Hagoth]

People scoff at the idea that Joseph might have borrowed names from Comoros and its capitol Moroni. After all, it's such a faraway, obscure place. The common assumption seems to be that he heard that names in the stories of Capitan Kidd, but I haven't seen a direct quote from literature that might have been available to Joseph. If you have more information on this please let me know.

But, there are plenty of other reasons Joseph might have known about Moroni/Comora. Beginning in the 1400s Arab, Indian, Japanese, and Portuguese were trading heavily through Comoros. By the 1700s the English, Dutch, and French were also using the islands as an important trading center. Large amounts of goods and gold funneled through there to fuel trade in spices, slaves, and exotic goods like ivory. Before the Suez canal was opened in the 1850s Comora was was important crossroads and restocking port for ships from all quarters. This led to a lot of international intrigue and political/military tension which would have been newsworthy in Joseph Smith's time.

Personally I have never put too much stock in the similarities, based solely on the Kidd connection, but I'm starting to see how it might have been more likely that Joseph heard the names or saw them on a map.

But for me the Comora/Moroni connection has a much more powerful application in the discussion of BoM historicity. Apologists have no other option but to write it off as mere coincidences. I am happy to concede this if they are just as willing to abandon NHM as coincidence.

[deacon blues]

I think the "NHM curiosity" and the "Moroni/Comoros curiosity" are roughly equivalent. I am reminded of the Lincoln/Kennedy curiosity that still makes the rounds. You know: Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln and vice versa, etc. etc. I think the absence of identifying markers for Nephite and Jaredite civilizations in the Western Hemisphere is more significant. Apologists still seem unable to come up with a reasonable (to me anyway) explanation for the absence of evidence of millions of people over thousands of years.

There's a book called "The Book of Pirates" by Henry Gilbert that is available on Amazon. I've never heard it mentioned in connection with the Moroni/Comoros paradox however.

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

In asking prolific mormon document collector John Hajicek about the comoros map connection he says there just wasn't any map available contemporary to Joseph and his area of operations making the link unlikely.

[jfro18]

In asking prolific mormon document collector John Hajicek about the comoros map connection he says there just wasn't any map available contemporary to Joseph and his area of operations making the link unlikely.

I think the Comoros Islands connection is a weak one but I agree with Hagoth's point that it's just as much of a stretch to say NHM is proof of the Book of Mormon.

That said I wish the CES Letter ignored this part - especially putting it near the front. It's a weak argument and because he puts it at the beginning it gives apologist a nice opening to paint the entire thing as a lie.

[Hagoth]

In asking prolific mormon document collector John Hajicek about the comoros map connection he says there just wasn't any map available contemporary to Joseph and his area of operations making the link unlikely.

That's a great point. There are a number of maps going back to as early as the 1700s that show the Island labeled Comoro or Comore but they do not show the town of Moroni with it's current spelling.

I'm not sure a map was necessary if the names were known and repeated by sailors or written in adventure tales and travel logs that might have been read or discussed around the fire. I have no reason to believe this is the case, so I lean toward coincidence as an explanation. But it is a pretty impressive coincidence that clearly illustrates how less impressive the NHM coincidence is.

Moroni, a person, is physically situated on Comora (original spelling), a geographic feature. The town of Moroni (a collection of people) is physically situated on Comore, a geographic feature. I don't see how NHM is any stronger evidence than that.

[nehor90210]

I've even heard some apologists spin the Comoros connection as another hit for the BoM's truthfulness, that Nephi's ship might have stopped there on the way to the Promised Land, and that's where the Nephites picked up the names Cumorah and Moroni, and liked them so much they apparently kept passing them down for a thousand years. Sure.

[Hagoth]

I've even heard some apologists spin the Comoros connection as another hit for the BoM's truthfulness, that Nephi's ship might have stopped there on the way to the Promised Land, and that's where the Nephites picked up the names Cumorah and Moroni, and liked them so much they apparently kept passing them down for a thousand years. Sure.

[moksha]

I've even heard some apologists spin the Comoros connection as another hit for the BoM's truthfulness, that Nephi's ship might have stopped there on the way to the Promised Land, and that's where the Nephites picked up the names Cumorah and Moroni, and liked them so much they apparently kept passing them down for a thousand years. Sure.

Makes some sense if Lehi's ship sailed south towards Madagascar on its way to America (especially if set to auto-pilot). This makes even more sense if the Nephites also used the Vern Holly Maps in order to help name newly found locations.