I think the key here is the last sentence of the quote. Pratt didn't know if it was revelation or speculation.Bronco73idi wrote:Elder Orson Pratt confirmed this belief. He stated:
The Prophet Joseph once in my hearing advanced his opinion that the Ten Tribes were separated from the Earth: or a portion of the Earth was by a miracle broken off, and that the Ten Tribes were taken away with it, and that in the latter days it would be restored to the Earth or be let down in the Polar regions. Whether the Prophet founded his opinion upon revelation or whether it was a matter of mere speculation with him, I am not able to say.
Orson Pratt, “Letter box of Orson Pratt,” Church Historian’s Office, Letter to John C. Hall, December 13, 1875
Was it Joseph Fielding Smith who announced that man would never walk on the moon because the Earth the limit of our domain?
I have also heard claims that this planet is hollow, or that there are giant caverns housing large numbers of people. Cleon Skousen proposed that maybe the lost tribes are on another planet or maybe they are inside this planet.
We can have fun speculating, but that's about it. When people talk about a secret conspiracy to keep a secret about something in plain view, or use natural phenomena as "proof" of their nonsensical beliefs, I believe they are putting their attention someplace it doesn't belong.