Even though the Mormon Church formally denies endorsing any geographical theory regarding the location of Book of Mormon events, its many Book of Mormon editions, film strips, pamphlets and professors using images and references exclusively of the Mesoamerican area speaks otherwise. It is precisely those real life endorsements to the exclusion of all others that has merited the Mormon Church a wide sweeping criticism regarding the lack of DNA evidence to support those assumptions.

Had they not endorsed such fantastic claims through the pictures in different editions of the Book or Mormon, as well as in films that missionaries use to proselytize with; plus the multitude of church approved books, sponsored journals, and magazine articles; the number of believers who have stopped believing would not be so large.

Here is a typical "non-endorsing" statement from BYU:

Statement on Book of Mormon Geography

 

Since the early twentieth century, many scholars and other serious students of the Book of Mormon have come to favor the limited geography model, with Mesoamerica (extending from southern Mexico to Guatemala) as the Book of Mormon homeland and New York’s Hill Cumorah as the repository of Mormon’s record but not the scene of the final Nephite-Lamanite battles. Notwithstanding its various permutations regarding real-world correlations, this interpretation, with antecedents apparent in the 1840s, seems to best match the complex requirements of the scriptural text itself while remaining tenable after years of rigorous examination in light of the archaeological and cultural record of ancient Mesoamerica.

http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bomgeog.php

 

Even though LDS Church Presidents and apostles affirmed that the final battle occurred in Palmyra, New York (Church News, February 27th, 1954, p. 2; Conference Report, April, 1953, pp. 83-4.), Book of Mormon scholars know they can't have it both way - a final battle in New York, with everything else in Mesoamerca. So, they chose to ignore those statements by prior church leaders and manufactured a "Second Hill Cumorah" theory instead.

Sadly, all other Book of Mormon believing denominations are following the lead of the LDS Church and believe in a Mesoamerican model as well.

We at Book of Mormon Christian believe that if you take the record alone without any alleged statements by Joseph Smith, the truth will speak very loud and very clear. And there will be no contradictions with DNA (see <a href="http://bookofmormongeography.org/dna-hagoth" target="_blank" title="DNA & Hagoth">DNA & Hagoth</a>).