Garden of Eden

How could the Garden of Eden be in Missouri when the Pearl of Great Price declares it was in the vicinity of Assyria with the Euphrates and Hiddekel Rivers running through it?

(See P of GP Moses 3:14; D&C 116; Mormon Doctrine pgs. 19, 303; Doctrines of Salvation 3:74 and Genesis 2:8-15)

Gen. 2:8-15; “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 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.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

Moses 3:10-15; “And I, the Lord God, caused a river to go out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 And I, the Lord God, called the name of the first Pison, and it compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where I, the Lord God, created much gold;

12 And the gold of that land was good, and there was bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river was called Gihon; the same that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river was Hiddekel; that which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river was the Euphrates.

15 And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.”

 D&C 116; “Spring Hill is named by the Lord 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.”

Doctrines of Salvation 3:74; “GARDEN OF EDEN AND CITY ZION SAME PLACE. In accord with the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we teach that the Garden of Eden was on the American continent located where the City Zion, or the New Jerusalem, will be built. When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden, they eventually dwelt at a place called Adam-ondi-Ahman, situated in what is now Daviess County, Missouri.  Three years before the death of Adam he called the righteous of his posterity at this place and blessed them, and it is at this place where Adam, or Michael, will sit as we read in the 7th chapter of Daniel.”

Mormon Doctrine, pg. 19, 303; “The early brethren of this dispensation taught that the Garden of Eden was located in what is known to us as the land of Zion, an area for which Jackson County, Missouri, is the center place…This glorious garden was located on the American continent “where the City Zion, or the New Jerusalem, will be built.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p. 74.)”

How do you reconcile these things if you’re a Mormon?  It’s hard enough having to work for your own salvation and now having to maneuver your way through the discrepancies is a heavy load to carry indeed.

Pray for those who are questioning these type of scenarios that the Lord would open their eyes and show them truth.