Ark? Ararat? Better take that up in a c/e thread; there are better people than myself to rebut that.
I don’t know where things stand today, but just three or four years ago, it was the consensus of Biblical archaeologists that no evidence had yet been found to substantiate a single Old Testament event prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. (I’m relying on articles and letters in Biblical Archaeology Review here.) Lots of things leave little trace of their passing, given enough time.
Yes, the Mormons believe things I can’t personally swallow. But I believe things that David B, Gaudere, slythe, pldennison, etc. can’t swallow. But that doesn’t make them a cult, and it doesn’t make my church a cult, either.
And calling Joseph Smith a ‘pathological liar’ won’t win you friends even among detractors of the LDS faith on this board. If you want to question his credibility (perfectly reasonable), you don’t have to go for the most inflammatory language you can think of.
FWIW, Joseph Smith never made it to Utah.