I have a question about the Garden of Eden

[alliecat]

As I understand it, Joseph Smith had a revelation that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. But I also thought lds people believe that the Bible is the true word of God. How can you believe both the Bible and what Joseph Smith said, when the Bible states in Genesis that the garden was near the Tigris and Euphrates River?

[john doe]

The Bible does not state how far Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden.

[bytor2112]

Check this out.............

Garden of Eden in Missouri? - FAIRMormon

[KristofferUmfrey]

As I understand it, Joseph Smith had a revelation that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. But I also thought lds people believe that the Bible is the true word of God. How can you believe both the Bible and what Joseph Smith said, when the Bible states in Genesis that the garden was near the Tigris and Euphrates River?

That was before the worldwide flood. The names Noah gave to things when he landed wouldn't just be names he made up out of the blue. He and his sons would name things they saw as similar to what they had before the flood. Just like the pilgrims named things after things in the Old World when they landed here.

[Justice]

Nor does the pre-flood Bible record allow for any land changes and movements that may have happened (did happen) as a result of the flood. It is commonly understood by experts from every field that the land of the earth used to be in one mass. Those who seek learning outside the Bible believe it was millions or billions of years ago. Their greatest evidence is that the land masses are moving so many fractions of an inch per year. Those who recognize the Bible see that the universal flood could have caused massive changes all at once.

In short, it very well could be that those rivers once flowed near, or even through, Missouri.

Lots of possibilities.

[Hemidakota]

As I understand it, Joseph Smith had a revelation that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. But I also thought lds people believe that the Bible is the true word of God. How can you believe both the Bible and what Joseph Smith said, when the Bible states in Genesis that the garden was near the Tigris and Euphrates River?

Prayer and the confirmation of the Holy Ghost. That is the difference. We are allowed to receive personal witnesses of truths given and confirmation by what is received through the Holy Ghost.

Both Adams were driven from the garden in a north-north east direction. From where they crossed the river to the center of the Garden where the Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge, is about 95-mile walk.

Before I forget, welcome to the forum Alliecat.

[Hemidakota]

Some further enlightenment:

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Doctrine and Covenants 116 is a selection from Joseph Smith's history added to the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876 that identifies a place near Wight's Ferry at Spring Hill in Daviess County, Missouri, as a site where Adam lived and will visit in the future. As Latter-day Saints sought new areas for expansion during the spring of 1838, the Prophet traveled northward:

"Friday, May 18, [1838].—I left Far West . . . with . . . many others, for the purpose of visiting the north country, and laying off a stake of Zion; making locations, and laying claim to lands to facilitate the gathering of the Saints, and for the benefit of the poor, in upholding the Church of God. We traveled to the mouth of Honey Creek, which is a tributary of Grand river, where we camped for the night. We passed through a beautiful country the greater part of which is prairie, and thickly covered with grass and weeds, among which is plenty of game, such as deer, turkey, and prairie hen. . . .

"Saturday, 19.—This morning we struck our tents and formed a line of march, crossing Grand River at the mouth of Honey Creek and Nelson's Ferry. Grand River is a large, beautiful, deep and rapid stream, during the high waters of Spring, and will undoubtedly admit of navigation by steamboat and other water craft. At the mouth of Honey Creek is a good landing. We pursued our course up the river, mostly through timber, for about eighteen miles, when we arrived at Colonel Lyman Wight's home. He lives at the foot of Tower Hill (a name I gave the place in consequence of the remains of an old Nephite altar or tower that stood there), where we camped for the Sabbath.

"In the afternoon I went up the river about half a mile to Wight's Ferry, accompanied by President Rigdon, and my clerk, George W. Robinson, for the purpose of selecting and laying claim to a city plat near said ferry in Daviess County . . . which the brethren called 'Spring Hill,' but by the mouth of the Lord it was named Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said He, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet [D&C 116]. . . .

"Monday, 21. . . . In the evening, I called a council of the brethren, to know whether it was wisdom to go immediately into the north country, or tarry here and hereabouts, to secure land on Grand River, etc. The brethren spoke their minds freely on the subject, when I stated to the council that I felt impressed to tarry and secure all the land near by, that is not secured between this and Far West, especially on Grand River. President Rigdon concurred, and the council voted unanimously to secure the land on Grand River, and between this and Far West" (History of the Church, 3:34-36).

In the summer of 1838, Latter-day Saints began settling Adam-ondi-Ahman. Lyman Wight's son, Orange Wight, remembered that his family was one of the first to move to the community that had been identified by Joseph Smith as a place where Adam had offered a holy sacrifice.

Orange Wight also remembered occasions when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon visited his family. Joseph "was very kind and sociable with both young and old. We often bathed in the limpid waters of Grand River. Although but a boy I was invited to bathe with them. . . . We had a jolly time. . . . There was Joseph the Prophet, my father, Sidney Rigdon and several others. Our amusement consisted in part [of] seeing Brother Rigdon swim. He was so corpulent that he was forced to lay on his back to swim, he would swim in that way until his shoulders would strike the sand bar. Then he would turn but would flop back in deep water" ("Autobiography," p. 4).

Eliza R. Snow was another early settler of Adam-ondi-Ahman. She remembered that the old settlers placed "an embargo on all of the flouring mills" in that area, preventing the Latter-day Saints from obtaining meal they desired. "Our father had abundance of wheat, but could get no grinding. In this dilemma we had to resort to graters, made by perforating tin pails and stovepipes, on which we grated corn for bread material" (Biography, pp. 41-42).

About the middle of October 1838, Edward Stevenson visited Adam-ondi-Ahman and later recalled a conversation with the Prophet about that sacred site:

"The Prophet said it had been manifested unto him that here [Jackson County] was where our Father Adam was placed, and where his home was until his fall, when he was driven out into the dreary world, and from thence he took his departure northeast about seventy miles, to where a stake of Zion was located, and it was named Adam-Ondi-Ahman by revelation. This knowledge makes this land, which is good and greatly blessed, all the more attractive to the Saints, and creates a desire to cherish . . . the memory of the land. . . .

" . . . I was with the Prophet Joseph Smith . . . [and] others on the hill Adam-Ondi-Ahman. The Prophet said, pointing to a mound of stones:

"'There is where Father Adam built an altar when he was driven from the Garden of Eden and offered up sacrifice unto the Lord.'

"He further said that the Garden of Eden was in or near Independence, the center stake of Zion. I thought it a great privilege to be at that time with the Prophet, and to hear his words regarding the mound and pile of rocks laid up at so early a period of the world's history" (Reminiscences of Joseph, pp. 40-41).

[Hemidakota]

A Lecture delivered by Elder Andrew Jenson before the Students' Society in the Social Hall, Salt Lake City, Friday Evening, January 16, 1891.

Location of Ancient Eden

In 1832 Joseph Smith made the startling declaration that the Garden of Eden had its existence on the American continent-even in Jackson County, Mo. People as a rule ridiculed the idea and thought Joseph very ignorant indeed in not knowing that which every school boy at that time was supposed to know, that Asia was the cradle of mankind. And when he further declared that the Grand River Valley in Daviess County, Mo., was the valley in which Adam our father had lived and that he (Joseph) on an adjoining hill had discovered the remnants of an altar upon which the great Patriarch had offered sacrifice, the world thought that Joseph Smith was either a religious crank, a blasphemer or a fool. I will introduce an item of history in order to make this more plain. It was in the summer of 1838 when the Saints were flocking into Missouri from different parts of the country that it became evident that there would not be room for all to settle in the immediate vicinity of Far West, or in Caldwell County. The Prophet, therefore, together with others, started out to select other gathering places. Arriving at a hill where there was a fine spring of water, at a point where Grand River suddenly changes its course from a southerly to an easterly direction, he was struck with the natural beauty of the country and also with what he thought would be a fine townsite on the slope of the hill.

Accordingly, the accompanying surveyors began their work of running lines for streets and lots, and it was decided to name the place Spring Hill; but they had not proceeded far when the Lord, on May 19, 1838, gave a revelation through the Prophet Joseph, naming the place Adam-ondi-Ahman, "because," said the Lord, "it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet." (Doc. and Cov., D&C 116.) Joseph was also told that it was the place where Adam, as mentioned in a previous revelation, three years before his death, blessed his posterity, when they rose up and called him Michael the Prince, the Archangel; and he, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted what should befall his posterity to the latest generations. (Doc. and Cov., 107: 53-56.)

With all the claims of our American people, none, so far as I know, had up to that time imagined for our country the honor of being the home of our first parents, but since then it has become a favorite theory with many. A few years after Joseph had proclaimed that the great Mississippi Valley was the first home of man, the learned antiquarian, Samuel L. Mitchell of New York, with other gentlemen eminent for their knowledge of natural history, advanced the theory that America was the land where Adam dwelt. He supported his theory by tracing the progress of colonies westward from America over the Pacific Ocean to new settlements in Europe and Africa. (Juvenile Instructor, vol. 9: 278). Other scientists have reasoned elaborately from the relics found in different parts of North and South America, and have proven that the Western Continent was inhabited before the flood. Now, if Adam dwelt in America, Noah also dwelt here and must have built his ark on this continent. Without entering into a detailed argument to prove this, I will simply read the following from an able and lengthy article entitled "Old America," written by G. M. O., and published in the ninth volume of the Juvenile Instructor:

"Modern science has given us very accurately drawn charts of the course of the wind through the atmosphere surrounding us. We have no reason to believe these wind currents have changed since the creation. Now the prevailing current of wind over the central part of North America is from the west, and possibly this was the course followed by the tornado during the deluge. Now if the ark had been built in Armenia, where the mountain Ararat is situated, and it is found that the wind and currents have general eastern direction, the ark would, during the one hundred and fifty days or five months of the deluge (that is from the commencement until the waters gained their greatest depth), have gone in an eastern course, say at the rate of about forty miles a day, some six thousand miles, or beyond China; or if it floated faster, it would have left the ark somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. This would be an unreasonable theory to adopt, being entirely inconsistent. But the ark being built in America, somewhere, we may imagine in the latitude of Missouri, when taken up by the eastern-borne current, and wafted by the hurricane following the same course, it is not out of the way to suppose it to have progressed as far as Ararat, some six or seven thousand miles from America, even had it traveled at a more rapid rate than forty or fifty miles a day. Over sixteen hundred years had passed from the creation until the ark was finished. In this time mankind had increased and multiplied and spread out far beyond the country around Eden (the Mississippi Valley), as signs of an antediluvian population indicate, and we may suppose the ark was built some distance east of the Garden, between the States of New York and Missouri. Couple this supposition with the circumstances connected with the flood, the current flowing from America, with the fact of the ark's resting in an easterly direction from this country, and we can form no other reasonable conclusion than that here the miraculous vessel was constructed and freighted with its treasure of animal life, and the progenitors designated and set apart to renew the human race. That the ancient Americans knew of the deluge is beyond dispute, as we have several versions of the story of the flood that have been handed down as tradition by different nations, and in one instance we have a picture-written description of it, an old Toltec record, fortunately preserved from the wholesale destruction that followed the conquest.

Suffice it to say that it is no longer considered an absurd theory that America was the cradle of man, and the home of Adam, Noah and the other antediluvian patriarchs, but it has taken many years of patient study and thorough investigation of scientific problems for men of learning to come to the same conclusion that Joseph Smith did by revelation between fifty and sixty years ago.

[HiJolly]

As I understand it, Joseph Smith had a revelation that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. But I also thought lds people believe that the Bible is the true word of God. How can you believe both the Bible and what Joseph Smith said, when the Bible states in Genesis that the garden was near the Tigris and Euphrates River?

My personal belief is that the Garden is not, and never was, on the physical earth. That is is/was in conjuction with the earth, I would agree; but that is quite a different thing than to say it was 'on earth' in the common sense.

HiJolly

[Hemidakota]

If that was the case, why would Adam built an alter overlooking the exit point of the garden?

Meanwhile, HD stands on Adam's alter, to see why and then borrowed a few alter stones left at the sight.

in John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations it states,

Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the human race, were placed by God in the "Garden of Eden."

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:8-9)

This very brief statement would lead the reader to believe that Eden may have been the name of a large area of land, perhaps a country or continent, in which a garden of limited area was set aside and "planted" for the use of Adam and Eve.

For many generations Bible students have searched for the location of this home of our first parents. The geography of every continent has been studied minutely in the hope that the location of Eden and its garden might be found. Articles, pamphlets, and books have been written on the subject, but without acceptable conclusions.

The clues that might lead to a discovery are few. The account says that the garden was "eastward" in Eden. What is east or west in such a story depends on the place of the author at the time of writing, since no fixed point is mentioned. It is a fair assumption that the word "eastward" has quite another meaning, so far unknown, than the usual one of direction.

Another clue, which at first promised more, is the statement that

. . . a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison . . . which compasseth the whole land of Havilah . . . the name of the second river is Gihon . . . that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel which goeth toward the east Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (Gen. 2:10-14)

Despite the apparently specific descriptions given, this clue has not led to the location of the Garden of Eden. Careful scholars have not been able to identify any of the four rivers with certainty. None of the rivers mentioned fits into the lands now known. Since the historically well-known names of Euphrates, Assyria, and Ethiopia do not fit into the use of them in the Garden of Eden story, it is more than probable that they are ancient names variously applied in later times. Clearly, these rivers and countries belong to early ages of the world's history, and do not apply to present-day terminology.

The river which watered the Garden of Eden "went out of Eden," probably out of the country of Eden, not necessarily out of the Garden of Eden. The following statement, that it was parted into "four heads," may refer to a condition at the headwaters area, not within the garden.

In dismay at the failure to locate the garden of Adam and Eve from the description given in Genesis, many students have attempted to spiritualize the whole story. The garden was not, they say, a place on earth, but a heavenly abode, in which the drama of "the fall" was enacted. Others insist that everything in the Bible account of the Garden should be given a symbolic meaning. That is, the events recorded did not really happen anywhere; they were invented as symbols of truth.

In short, the world's scholarship admits that it cannot answer the question, where was the Garden of Eden.

In 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation designating the place called Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, as the center place of the kingdom of God on the western hemisphere. A city called Zion or the New Jerusalem would there be built. There also, the foremost temple to the Lord should be erected. From the temple in Zion the law of the Lord would issue, as the word of the Lord would come from Jerusalem. (D. & C. 57:1-3; Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2; History of the Church, 1:188)

Later, the Prophet designated "Spring Hill," a hill of eminence about fifty or sixty miles north and somewhat to the east of Independence, as Adam-ondi-Ahman, . . . the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet." (D. & C. 116) In a revelation to the Prophet, an early event in the history of mankind, occurring near Adam-ondi-Ahman, was told:

Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. (D. & C. 107:5)

Since Adam called together seven generations of his descendants at Adam-ondi-Ahman, it can well be believed that there was his old homestead. If so, the Garden of Eden was probably not far distant, for it was the entrance at the east of the Garden which was closed against them at the time of the "fall." (Gen. 3:24) In fact, it has been commonly understood among the Latter-day Saints, from the teachings of the Prophet, that the temple was to be built in or near the location of the Garden of Eden.

That the Prophet actually taught that the Garden of Eden was in or near Independence, Missouri, is amply testified to by many who knew and heard him. Heber C. Kimball, close associate and friend of the Prophet, said on one occasion:

The spot chosen for the Garden of Eden was Jackson Country, in the state of Missouri, where Independence now stands; it was occupied in the morn of creation by Adam and his associates, who came with him for the express purpose of peopling this earth. (Journal of Discourses, 10:235)

Brigham Young, also a close associate of the Prophet, testified similarly:

In the beginning, after this earth was prepared for man, the Lord commenced his work upon what is now called the American continent, where the Garden of Eden was made. In the days of Noah, in the days of the Boating of the ark, he took the people to another part of the earth. (Discourses, p. 102)

In conversation with Orson Hyde, on March 15, 1857, President Young said:

You have been both to Jerusalem and Zion, and seen both. I have not seen either, for I have never been in Jackson County. Now it is a pleasant thing to think of and to know where the Garden of Eden was. Did you ever think of it? I do not think many do, for in Jackson County was the Garden of Eden. Joseph has declared this, and I am as much bound to believe that as to believe that Joseph was a prophet of God. (Journal History, March 15, 1857)

That is the position of the Latter-day Saints today, with respect to the much-discussed location of the Garden of Eden.

Adam, after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, lived in the vicinity of the great Missouri and Mississippi rivers. As his descendants multiplied, they would naturally settle along the fertile and climatically acceptable river valleys. When the flood came in the days of Noah, the Mississippi drainage must have increased to a tremendous volume, quite in harmony with the Biblical account. Noah's ark would be floated on the mighty, rushing waters, towards the Gulf of Mexico. With favorable winds, it would cross the Atlantic to the Eastern continents. There the human race, in its second start on earth, began to multiply and fill the earth.

The location of the Garden of Eden in America, and at Independence, Missouri, clears up many a problem which the Bible account of Eden and its garden has left in the minds of students.

[HiJolly]

Right back attcha, Hemi! :)

Garden of Eden in Missouri? - FAIRMormon

HiJolly

p.s. Keep in mind I'm in love with Jewish Mysticism... almost as much as I am the LDS Church...

[Hemidakota]

My personal belief is that the Garden is not, and never was, on the physical earth. That is is/was in conjuction with the earth, I would agree; but that is quite a different thing than to say it was 'on earth' in the common sense.

HiJolly

Explained it more in detail for me.

[Hemidakota]

Right back attcha, Hemi! :)

Garden of Eden in Missouri? - FAIRMormon

HiJolly

p.s. Keep in mind I'm in love with Jewish Mysticism... almost as much as I am the LDS Church...

gotcha....thanks. Good reading but you may know already, I am not always a FAIR fan, when I have the same amount of data as they do.

Having been there in person, I do feel at this time, the brethren are correct on there assumption, where Adam did indeed made the garden exiting by crossing over the Missouri River and thus built an alter. My only disagreement here and my opinion here vice President Young, is the distance factor. He stated it was only 40-miles journey from the actual location of the center of the garden. For me, I have to agree with Joseph Fielding Smith on his opinion in placing the distance of 90-miles [-/+]; noting the center of the garden is the same place where the early saints wanted to build the temple and where the 12 New Jerusalem temples will be placed.

Hijolley. whether or not the garden was removed due to its terrestrial paradise level, I cannot reason with myself in believing the garden was indeed removed but more or less what was important to remove would be the Tree of Life. I am only based this premise on earlier form of writings that still talks about both of them viewing the paradisiacal garden from a distance. As I will state, these scrolls being passed down over many generations, with many rewrites, language adjustments, I can still see Adam building the alter looking back into the garden he once roam. What happen after the great deluge may have transformed that area drastically.

The other questions that may prevail against my argument, is where did the children settle down if the garden was still intact? For me, as I would use some logical reasoning as the former brethren, they would settle near the garden where the land was fertile, heavily wooded, and plenty of water. To me, it would more or less north east and then east of that. I can see the great division of the people of Cain migrating west and south of that area. But that itself is still a great mystery. Unless I could use some additional data revealing from the burial mounds found in the Mississippi valley to the Great Lake region.

[Moksha]

My personal belief is that the Garden is not, and never was, on the physical earth. That is is/was in conjuction with the earth, I would agree; but that is quite a different thing than to say it was 'on earth' in the common sense.

HiJolly

What about the school of thinking that says the entire creation story was allegory of a sacred nature?

[KristofferUmfrey]

I believe the garden is still right there just on a higher dimensional plain.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Both Adams were driven from the garden in a north-north east direction. From where they crossed the river to the center of the Garden where the Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge, is about 95-mile walk.

I am confused by this. What do you mean by 'both Adams' ?

[HiJolly]

I believe the garden is still right there just on a higher dimensional plain.

Yes, I agree. The mechanism for the fall (or, transition) is a bit difficult to explain, though. We say that it was the eating of a particular 'fruit', and the Brethren have specifically stated that the 'fruit' was not allegorical, but literal, in keeping with Brigham Young's statements on the subject.

This does make the whole process somewhat interesting, but not without a possible resolution. I prefer not to discuss my limited understanding of the particulars.

HiJolly

[HiJolly]

I am confused by this. What do you mean by 'both Adams' ?

Heh. Good luck, Hemi. Maybe you meant Adam Kadmon?

HiJolly

[HiJolly]

What about the school of thinking that says the entire creation story was allegory of a sacred nature?

I think that at some point, the ' sacred allegory' impinges upon the physical. Where to draw the line between the spiritual creation and the physical creation, keeping in mind Joseph's revelation that it's all matter, is a bit of an interesting endeavor.

While our scriptures and temple teaching are very good, I think some other sources, such as Jewish mysticism, can be most helpful. If one is willing to toss out the dross and only keep the gold, that is.

HiJolly

[HiJolly]

gotcha....thanks. Good reading but you may know already, I am not always a FAIR fan, when I have the same amount of data as they do.

Me too. Usually, they tend to not be so literal as you are about things like the Garden, etc. I usually side with the allegorical view. In the article referenced, they spoke of the 'faithful' usually envisioning the 'Garden' near their location, be it Africa, France or the USofA. I have no problem with that, as we must liken the scriptures to ourselves, as Nephi says, in order to learn what we should from them.

Reminds me of the song "I Wonder As I Wander", which I just sang to my family tonight. They sing of the "Wise Men, and Farmers, and Shepherds, and all" that came to the "cow's stall". The appalachian author is adding Farmers to the scriptural mix, deliberately and I think, appropriately, though it is not supported anywhere I know of. That's totally OK. It makes it personal. And that's good, even if it's not 'true/factual'.

Hijolley. whether or not the garden was removed due to its terrestrial paradise level, I cannot reason with myself in believing the garden was indeed removed but more or less what was important to remove would be the Tree of Life. I am only based this premise on earlier form of writings that still talks about both of them viewing the paradisiacal garden from a distance. As I will state, these scrolls being passed down over many generations, with many rewrites, language adjustments, I can still see Adam building the alter looking back into the garden he once roam. What happen after the great deluge may have transformed that area drastically.

I think it was not removed at all, though the mortal's view or perception of it was obscured over time, where it faded as they (Adam & Eve) partook more of the elements of the earth (as Brigham taught). As for the Tree, I believe it remained with the Garden, and that we must progress to the point where we can not only perceive it, but interact with it, before it can again affect us.

Remember that the Church teaches that the spirit world (and that can mean a lot of different things) is all around us, here on the earth).

HiJolly

Edited December 25, 2008 by HiJolly
enlarge text

[bert10]

Actually four great rivers are mentioned. NAming a River Tigris and Euprhrates does not mean that was their original names. It also does not mean that there were not any more rivers named Tigris or Euprates.

Nothing says that after most of the children of Adam and Eve became wicked that Adam and Eve did not go away to a new land which was the middle East.

Just remember we do not have the whole Story of what happened. God only allowed Moses to give us what was important spiritually to know... and had God allowed men to know that the Garden of Eden was located in the promised land [America]...we would have had an invasion of nations here in these lands before the time was right.

St Brendan the Navigator in the 7th century....once prayed and fasted to have his wish of seeing the promised land before He died. One day a Holy man came and told him that his request had been granted and was shown how he should build his boat to survive the journey. The promised land led him to America.

Peace be unto you

bert10

As I understand it, Joseph Smith had a revelation that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri. But I also thought lds people believe that the Bible is the true word of God. How can you believe both the Bible and what Joseph Smith said, when the Bible states in Genesis that the garden was near the Tigris and Euphrates River?

[MarginOfError]

Nor does the pre-flood Bible record allow for any land changes and movements that may have happened (did happen) as a result of the flood. It is commonly understood by experts from every field that the land of the earth used to be in one mass. Those who seek learning outside the Bible believe it was millions or billions of years ago. Their greatest evidence is that the land masses are moving so many fractions of an inch per year. Those who recognize the Bible see that the universal flood could have caused massive changes all at once.

In short, it very well could be that those rivers once flowed near, or even through, Missouri.

Lots of possibilities.

If you want to do a literal interpretation of the text, the continents did not shift until after the flood. Shem begat Arphaxad, who begat Salah, who begat Eber, who begat Peleg. Peleg received his name because he lived in the days when the earth was divided. (Gen 10:25; Gen 11:16-19; 1 Chr 1:19, 25)

I'm not sure how literally we can take this, but it's a thought. Others believing it had to do with a division of races across the world (or a patriarchal division)