Another Look at Numbers

Since Mesoamerican Theorists place such an importance on the numbers in the Book of Mormon, and use that as the basis for their placing indigenous people in the Land of Promise, let us take another look at Nephite numbers by Jacob’s time—which is a major issue among these Theorists who claim, contrary to scriptural evidence, that indigenous peoples roamed the Land of Promise.

To people like Sorenson, who continually discredits the natural growth among the Nephites and Lamanites in order to insert his indigenous people in the land of promise, my wife and I have been married 47 years. At present we have 7 children with an average of 5 children each, with two still planning to have more. With 35 grandchildren and possibly another two in the next three years, we could have 37 grandchildren within 50 years of our marriage, a few already of marrying age.

If each of those 37 grandchildren had an average of five children each, that would be 185 great grandchildren, or 229 people overall within 75 years of our marriage. If we were to multiply that number by 7 (Nephi, Sam, Zoram, Jacob, Joseph, 2 sisters), that would be 1603 people within 100 years. Considering that Jacob encountered Sherem around 520 B.C., 80 years after Lehi left Jerusalem (making Jacob between 70 and 78 years old), we can suggest that it is very likely that the Nephite count over whom Jacob was the Prophet, would have totaled at least 1000 and probably closer to 1500 people.

If we were to use the type of numbers Lehi and Ishmael had, we would be dealing with at least 8 children per family. Which means the numbers would be 8x8=64x8=512x8=4096 people in 100 years. Or, if we used the numbers more common among the Jews in the 600 to 500 B.C. era, that figure would be ten children per adult couple, which makes the figures 10x10=100x8=800x8=6400 people in 100 years.

It should also be kept in mind, that since there is almost a generation span between the oldest and youngest in an eight to ten children ratio, we are looking at some of these numbers creating another generation of children much earlier than others, which results in the long run of much larger numbers. And these do not include any servants that probably were among both Lehi’s and Ishmael’s house that they would have taken with them.

While Sorenson is adament about not paying attention to manufactured numbers such as these, the reality is, that such generational numbers today among Latter-day Saints is not uncommon. Just in my circle of friends, one couple has thirteen children, another ten, another nine, and three have eight. Sorenson may want to ignore such numbers, but they exist all around us.

Obviously, then, it would not take long for such numbers to grow making any need for indigenous people unnecessary to equate to the stated Nephite and Lamanite numbers. So why create indigenous people when none are mentioned or implied, and none are needed?